Chapter 2
The Sun was high over the village of Podeck although it seemed to shed little warmth on this cold winter's day, newly fallen snow thick about the fields and over the roofs of the village. Caravans and individual traders still plied their trade though, the snow cleared from the wide roads that led south and west from the village, travelers going about their usual routines. A large marble arch set off the main road just outside the village was a monument to the three who had lost their lives defending the village and a lone man knelt before the shrine with a large, brown shirshu laying nearby. Those traveling along the road, entering or leaving the gate to the village turned to look at the man but stories and frightening tales were already being spun about the strange, blindfolded man with green Airbender tattoos and none dared stop to disturb him.
Daniel knelt silently before the shrine and set out on the ground before him sat a large plate with small honey cakes as offerings, a tiny cup holding a small white flower known as Winter's Kiss that thrived on frigid mountain tops and two sticks of incense, their sweet smoke filling the still morning air.
"I know it's pointless to pray, no one ever hears and those spirits that can don't care but I just miss you so much, June. I'm trying. Every day it gets harder but I'll never stop trying…for you." Daniel whispered softly, lost in his solitude with his head bowed to his bare chest, "You were the only one who didn't look at me with fear in your eyes. The only one who loved me for just being me. I just…I miss you, June. I'll always love you."
The man remained this way for many minutes, the gentle rumbles of carts and feet over the nearby road and the occasional moan rising from the shirshu near to him the only sounds. So lost in his own reverie was he that Daniel did not even react at first to the sounds of crunching footsteps in the snow behind himself followed by whispering youthful voices carrying in the air.
"Maybe, maybe we should wait till he's done. We could wait with his shirshu." Hakoda whispered to his brother and cousin as he stared with a little trepidation at Daniel's bowed back, then looked with longing toward the great, brown furred animal laying a few yards from him, "Nyla likes me and he let's me groom her sometimes."
"Yeah well, I ain't going near him. I mean, he was cool when he showed me the dust scooter but sometimes," Maki swallowed as he too stared at Daniel, "Sometimes that guy's scary."
"He is not." Ana hissed at her cousins angrily, "My Mom and Dad explained, he's like my half brother and he's just very sad. You would be too if you'd lost someone like he did."
"Hey, we did too." Hakoda said a little louder, glaring at Ana.
"Yeah, we liked Lisomi and Captain Jee. They were nice to us." Maki said, his green eyed glare matching his brother's blue.
"Oh, you boys are idiots." Ana said, turning to point an accusing finger at the twins, "Even I could tell he loved June very much and it was obvious she felt the same way about him and if you two are so stupid,"
"What do you three want?" A low menacing growl rose from Daniel, the man not turning from the shrine or otherwise acknowledging the children a half dozen yards behind him.
The three children fell silent, sharing a fearful but guilty glance between themselves before Ana stepped forward, pulling her long, brown braid over her shoulder and twisting it between her hands nervously.
"I'm sorry, Daniel. I just…I wanted to come and say thank you…for taking my Dad to see the bison the other day. He talked to Mom and she seems happier now…to let me go to them. To get my own bison." Ana spoke hesitantly at first but though the man had spoken angrily before, she sensed only a deep sadness radiating from him and Ana stepped calmly up to his side, resting a hand on his bowed shoulder and whispering to him "You miss her a lot, don't you? I could feel you crying as we came out of the village."
The man's shoulder jerked away from Ana's touch, Daniel turning his blindfolded face toward her with a furious expression.
"It…it's ok if you're upset. Or if you want to yell, I don't mind." Ana said quietly as she smoothed her blue and yellow robes, sitting down beside Daniel and looking to the shrine, "I didn't know June very well. She stayed at our place at the northern temple once last year when she was doing a job for Dad. I couldn't sleep and she told me a story about how she and Aunty Toph got into a big fight in a tavern and smashed the place up. It was really funny, especially the bit where she kicked one guy so hard in the privates that he flew out through the window."
Daniel expression softened considerable as he seemed to consider the girl at his side and next moment he chuckled softly, shaking his head.
"She told you stories like that, huh? You are your mother's daughter, Ana and I say that because it's a wonderful thing." Daniel said softly as Ana gave him a grateful smile. Sitting up straighter, Daniel turned his head to the side, "Hakoda, Maki. You'll find her grooming brush and liniments in Nyla's saddle bags. Her wounds are all healed now but she gets aches and pains in this cold weather. Remember to just be gentle with the ointment or she might sting you with her tongue."
Hakoda grinned broadly at his brother and bounded away over the snow toward the shirshu, Maki approaching with a little more caution. But Nyla merely settled herself a little more comfortably on the ground and as Hakoda found the brush and gave her a few strokes down her side, the shirshu gave a loud moan of contentment. Maki watched quietly for a moment before his brother thrust the brush into his hands and Hakoda searched the saddlebag again, grabbing a small leather bag filled with an oily substance. The young boy dug his fingers gently into Nyla's fur, feeling for the raised edges of scars before he began to just as gently apply the ointment, Hakoda grinning broadly again as Nyla gave a very humanlike sigh of relief. Ana herself had to grin at the series of moans and groans that rose from the shirshu, Nyla twitching gently from the twins attentions.
"I can't wait to look after my bison like that." Ana breathed softly and turned back to Daniel with a grin, "Will it take long to get to the valley?"
Daniel seemed to relax further, his face softening as he turned toward Ana.
"No. Bumi has offered to take you all in his airship but you'll have to remember to exercise Appa everyday. But still, the trip won't take you more than a couple weeks, probably less to get back once you've freed the air bison." Daniel said softly as beside him, Ana beamed happily, "So, how is your idea for an Airbending move going? Remember it must be uniquely yours or the air dragons will not let you pass."
Ana bounced to her feet excitedly, walking a few yards away from Daniel before she took a calming breath and smoothed out her robes again.
"I wanted to show you this anyway to make sure it's original enough." Ana said with a self-conscious blush at Daniel, "I hope it is. It's kind of a mix. I adapted a basic Airbending blast with one of my Mom's favorite moves."
Closing her eyes in concentration, Ana begin sweeping her arms before herself in tight, circular motions, small currents of air instantly visible swirling about her hands. Then, with her tongue poking from the side of her mouth, she flung one arm out in a great sweeping motion around her side and from her hand a long, thin tentacle of whitish, tightly spinning air snapped out, slapping into a small mound of snow near Daniel and making it explode in a spray of white powder. Ana's face fell slightly but Daniel chuckled again as he brushed snow from his shoulders.
"An air whip." Daniel breathed in an impressed tone, nodding his head, "Not bad, Ana. Not bad at all."
"Actually, it wasn't supposed to do that and I was aiming for a stick over there." Ana said, rubbing at the back of her neck in embarrassment, "It's meant to pick things up and bring them back to me."
"Well, either as an attack or as a helpful tool, it's very impressive, Ana." Daniel said to the girl with a warm smile, "I have no doubt that once you have mastered it, it will be the perfect move to display to the air dragons."
"Do you really think so?" Ana squeaked with excitement, then blushed again from her outburst, "I mean, will it really be original enough? I only combined a bit of Airbending with Mom's water whip."
Daniel smiled warmly, turning his blindfolded face to the girl and nodding.
"I think it's perfect, Ana. You keep working on it and I bet the dragons will be as impressed as I am. Sometimes, by combining the old ways of doing things and adapting them to new uses, we create something that is uniquely original and our own." Daniel said softly and Ana beamed happily again. At a louder, pleasure filled grunt from Nyla nearby as the twins continued their brushing and grooming, Daniel tipped his blindfolded face to the sky and for a moment he smiled broadly, "In fact, if you like, we have a couple more hours before I need to train the Warriors so why don't I show you and Maki here a move my sister, Mai created when she was only a little older than you. It's quite simple really. She only made a slight adaptation to the airscooter but I think you'll be impressed. It certainly left a lot of impressions on our father and plenty of bruises too. My father…or rather, our fathers might have invented the airscooter, Ana but my Dad fell on his face every time he tried to ride Mai's skates."
"Skates?" Ana asked, both confusion and excitement on her face.
"Hey, Maki. Come over here." Daniel called out, turning about to sit facing Ana directly as Maki stepped away from his brother and walked over. Daniel reached out with a hand and a section of ground beside him broke open, a large stone rising into the air that he began Bending and stretching out into a long flat shape about a two feet long and a little over half dozen inches wide, "Ok, Ana, Maki. You've both mastered the scooter as a way of getting around but if you think that's fast, just wait till you try this."
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As the sun reached it's zenith in the sky, far out in the empty fields beyond the village, the snow had been cleared away in a large area and pilled into a high mound off to one side. Beside this high mound, sheltered from the cold breeze, five people sat in a rough circle about a small fire with small bowls set upon the ground before them filled with various and strange items. A brightly glowing coal from the fire was hovering above Zuko's hands which he was passing to Katara at his side while she was passing a lump of dirty, compacted snow to Bumi beside her. Various objects were moving from person to person and a frustrated growl arose from Azula, seated between her brother and uncle as Iroh sent a wobbling blob of wet mud toward her. Sweat beaded Iroh's brow as he concentrated his Bending upon the mud but as he released it to his niece it promptly fell from the air, splattering over her hands and lap. Azula's hands closed into shaking fists as she released a louder growl of frustration, relaxing them again a moment later to wipe furiously at the brown mess coving her lower half.
"It's ok, Zula. I looked pretty much the same the first time I tried this." Zuko said softly to which his mud smeared sister only replied with a withering glare.
There came a yelp across from Azula, she and the others looking to see Bumi hastily brushing embers from his thick green robes.
"At least you're doing alright with the coals, young lady." Bumi said with a touch of frustration himself, then with a snorting laugh he held his hands out to show everyone about the fire several small burns on his palms, "I know the earth is there, I can feel it but it's still not easy."
"Here Bumi, let me get that." Katara said softly, drawing some snow from nearby with her Bending and converting it to blue, glowing water about her hands which she promptly applied to Bumi's. As the old man gave an exaggerated sigh of relief, Katara turned to smile at Azula, "I burned myself about a dozen times too, that first time we tried this but as Daniel says, there's more water in a burning lump of wood than you might think."
"This is more about learning to see your element around yourself more clearly, not just manipulating it." Zuko said, "But it is true, Sis. There is more fire, energy, even in a lump of wet dirt, than you can possibly imagine."
"Yes, yes. Let's just get on with this, shall we? I'm sure I'll get it soon enough." Azula said with impatience, reaching out with her Bending to pull another coal from the fire which she promptly flicked in her brother's direction, "If you can do this, Zuzu, I certainly can. And how come you're so good at this already, Uncle?"
Beside Azula, Iroh was Bending a small piece of green vine with a few leaves still attached above his hands, sending it drifting in his niece's direction.
"I was blessed from a young age with a good perception of the energies around me. More still I learned from my visit to the dragons, Ran and Shao." Iroh said, smiling tolerantly to his niece as Azula accepted the vine from him with a look of deep concentration, the small piece of greenery bobbing up and down above her hands but still keeping airborne as she passed it to Zuko, "Although, I never imagined that our Firebending could be put to uses such as this. Even more astounding still to see your brother apply his to healing, my niece."
"You know, I'm sure there's even more to this lesson than Daniel has let on so far. It's that funny way he has of teaching, letting us work it out for ourselves." Katara said to the others, flicking the coal she had accepted from Zuko back into the fire. Beside her, Bumi looked at his freshly healed palms and breathed a sigh of relief as Katara continued, "He said that each Bender's greatest strength is with their own element but he has also shown us that everything we can see around us is made up of all four elements. Even the purest water has traces of earth and air in it, all of it combined with and held together by energy, fire. Don't you see how profound the implications of this are? Any Bender who works hard enough to develop their skills can be just as proficient with the elements as Aang is."
"Or just as powerful. What, wasn't I scary enough when I held all the firepower?" Azula said with a smirk but rolled her eyes a moment later, "Look, all I'm saying is, is that if anyone was capable of this then the world would be drowning in Avatars. I think what 'HE' is implying here is that only those with the right mindset and strength of character are capable of taking their Bending to such extremes. Can you imagine how things would have turned out if I or my father had been capable of such things ten years ago? We were powerful, yes but that was all that our Firebending was to us, a means to power. We never thought to apply it to anything but destruction and control."
There were thoughtful nods from the others around the small fire but a deep chuckle arose from Iroh.
"I never expected such wise words from my niece." Iroh said, Azula frowning as the others laughed quietly, "You are making your old uncle prouder of you every day."
"Oh, shut up and throw some more mud at me, old man." Azula growled, another frustrated sigh rising from her as louder laughter erupted.
Nearby, Mai and Toph sat with the young Earthbender's father, Lao and the two smaller children, Reena and Gyatso. Mai had Reena on her lap, toying with the little girl's hair as she played with her much repaired and dirty Appa doll. Lao had Gyatso on his lap as he and Toph rolled a ball of earth between them, the lemur, Momo dashing back and forth trying to catch it, much to the two year old boy's delight. The real air bison, Appa was resting his huge hairy form on the ground at the edge of the cleared area with Aang, Sokka and Suki standing next to him, staring open mouthed and with a mix of concern and excitement out into the fields. Suki was the most concerned as she watched her twin boys racing across the open fields with Ana at breakneck speeds.
Nyla was pounding across the open, snow covered fields with Hakoda bent into the wind on her saddle and only slightly behind the shirshu, Ana and Maki raced to keep up. Maki appeared to be riding a small stone board, standing side on as he rocketed just above the surface of the snow while Ana almost appeared to be lazily walking along, for all that she was keeping pace with her cousins and the shirshu. Nyla was barely breathing hard as she raced, the shirshu thoroughly enjoying herself as she plowed through a small drift of snow without even slowing. Behind Nyla, Ana and Maki shot over the drift, leaping high into the air, Maki kicking his legs out to the side, one hand on his board and revealing four small spheres of rapidly spinning dust on it's underside. Ana performed a graceful spin as she flew beside Maki, drawing her arms into her sides as she rolled once in the air revealing a single sphere of whitely spinning air under each foot before both children came back down at the same moment and flew away in pursuit of Nyla once more.
"Come on, Nyla. Let's show these jerk benders what you got, baby." Hakoda whooped, unconcerned with the freezing wind wiping by, he and the shirshu lost in the sheer joy of the race, "Punch it, Nyla. Go, girl, go."
Nyla, enjoying herself more than she had in many days, was happy to comply. Her long, lean body seeming to lower slightly as her legs pounded over the ground even faster, a great fan of kicked up snow flying out behind the shirshu. Ana and Maki bent low, yet still only just managing to keep pace with the huge shirshu on their air and dust skates.
"Oh, slow down, babies, slow down." Suki moaned, her worry and concern plain on her face.
"Are you kidding? This is amazing." Aang breathed in awe as he watched the three children playing with Nyla, "I can't believe it's just little scooters. I have got to try this."
As Sokka watched with interest, Aang created a spinning ball of white air between his hands, an ordinary scooter which he then split into two between his hands, compressing these down as he had seen his daughter do until he held two white spheres of furiously spinning air above each palm. Then with a light hop, Aang passed his hands down under his feet, leaving behind the mini scooters but as he came back down to the ground his legs promptly shot out behind him, dumping Aang onto his face in the snow. Beside him, Appa opened his mouth, the huge bison shaking as he rumbled with amusement and Sokka joined in with the animal, laughing hard at Aang.
"I can do this. I can do this." Aang said excitedly, rising back to his feet and beginning the process again, "The balance is just a bit different to riding a scooter, that's all."
This time, when Aang jumped in the air and placed the mini scooters under his feet, as he came back down he shot away several yards before his feet tried to go in opposite directions and Aang found himself face down in the snow again, his legs spread wide in a full split. Sokka joined Aang on the ground but only to hold his stomach as he rolled with loud laughter beside Appa.
"I can do it. I'll get this." Aang said, wheezing slightly as he rose to his feet a bit slower this time.
After several minutes, and many more embarrassing crashes on Aang's part, even Suki's eyes were drawn away from the rocketing children, her concerns forgotten as she lent against a shaking Appa, joining the bison and her husband in laughing themselves silly at Aang.
Several minutes later, Toph caught the ball she and her father were rolling between themselves to entertain Gyatso and Momo, turning her pale, green eyes toward the trees of the forest fifty feet away from them. A moment later a figure dressed in a form fitting black outfit raced from the trees, his steel grey hair loose and flying behind him as he raced in a blur over to the high mound of snow. Piandao skidded to a halt and bent at the waist to rest his hands on his knees, panting hard from his run.
"Are you alright, Panny?" Lao asked with concern and Piandao stood straight, still breathing hard but smiling.
"Much better now, Lao. I only just got past him." Piandao said as he walked over to sit beside the man, wiping at the sweat running down his face, "Am I the first to make it out of the forest?"
"The first and only one so far, Sugardaddy." Toph said with a grin, Piandao rolling his eyes at the nickname she had adopted for him. Her arm flashed up and pointed to the forest, "I can feel Bubblebutt coming now though."
"Bubbabutt." Gyatso yelled excitedly, clapping his little hands before himself.
"Toph. It's bad enough Ana and Reena's first words were Tinkle Toes." Katara frowned as she called out from the group about the small fire, "Please don't teach my baby boy to say things like,"
Katara paused, everyone turning to watch as a green clad figure burst from the trees, Ty Lee grinning widely as she sprinted toward them.
"Ha! I made it. I made," Ty Lee started yelling.
But Ty Lee only got about twenty feet from the trees before a long coil of leather tipped with two silver leaves whipped out, coiling about one of the young woman's legs and sending her crashing to her front on the ground. Yelling out and scrabbling madly at the dirt and snow, Ty Lee was dragged rapidly back into the trees, her cries cutting off a moment later. The Gaang grinned but beside the fire, Azula jumped to her feet with concern for her friend, pausing though as Zuko reached up and gently grabbed her arm.
"Don't worry, you know Daniel won't actually hurt her. All the warriors will be fine." Zuko said first with a smile and then frowned slightly, "At least they probably won't get peed on like I did."
Katara gave a loud snort of laughter at this and the others around the fire sent questioning looks at her, turning next to a deeply blushing Zuko.
"Uh, never mind." Zuko said hastily, instantly regretting mentioning the incident with the ground hogs, "We should...concentrate on our Bending."
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Amongst the thickly growing trees of the forest, two green clad Warriors were running for all they were worth, their kimonos and armor stained with mud and vegetation from their flight. Sanna and Manny came to a sudden halt though as another figure dropped from the branches of a tree before them but they relaxed as they recognized Gar, dressed as they were, the man's armor and face paint even more dirty than their own.
"Gar. Where's Ty? The other girls?" Sanna said breathlessly as Manny scanned the trees around them.
Gar only shrugged helplessly, all three jumping as a loud crack sounded in the forest nearby and they spun to search the trees.
"How are we supposed to utilize our senses properly in this forest?" Manny griped angrily as she searched the shadows beneath the trees around her, "There's just too much in here. I swear my nose is clogging up from being overloaded."
"M. m. mud. I s, saw when h, h, he took L, L, Linka." Gar stammered, standing with his back to the other two warrior's as he too scanned the trees around with wide, fearful eyes, "He's c, c, covered in m, mud."
"He's covering his scent in other words." Sanna breathed, narrowing her eyes as she gazed around, "Fine then, all we do is sniff out the mud and we've got him."
"That's all we can smell in this forest, Sanna." Manny said with frustration and annoyance plain in the tone of her voice, "Snow, trees, mud and bear sh,"
At a soft moan of fear from behind them, both women spun around but Gar had simply vanished. There came another sound from above and they looked up to see Gar, upside down and looking back at them fearfully as he was pulled by something unseen into the thick foliage above. Sanna and Manny looked to one another before they turned and broke into a sprint once more, racing for where they knew the edge of the forest to be. Throwing caution to the wind, both women crashed through bushes and around the trees, uncaring about the noise they made, only determined to escape the forest. As they passed between two particularly large, old oaks, Manny jumped through the gap first but as Sanna went to follow she felt her foot catch on something and she fell heavily to the ground. Manny skidded to a halt at the sound and turned just in time to see a lumpy, brown figure rise from ground between the trees, moaning as arms rose from it's sides, thick globs of mud dripping from the figure. With a high pitched war cry, Manny threw herself at the figure, bearing them to the ground with herself atop them, her hands flashing out hitting what she hoped were the right chi points. After the first couple of strikes though she paused with her fingers buried to the knuckle in the thick mud coating the figure as a familiar voice rose from it.
"Ow. Ow. Manny, stop it." came Sanna's voice from below her, followed by a light giggle, "Stop, that one tickles."
"Sunnygirl? Sanna, I'm so sorry. I thought you were him." Manny said as she brushed mud from the face of the figure below her, revealing her Captain and girlfriend grinning back at her.
Manny gave her an apologetic look and an embarrassed smile but jumped when she felt a hand land on her shoulder, turning to see Daniel's frowning, blindfolded face behind her.
"But, but how?" Manny started, eyeing the perfectly clean man dressed as he usually was in nothing but his loincloth.
To answer, Daniel simply raised a hand and clicked his fingers, the mud covering Sanna answering his call by leaping up from the woman and splattering over Manny. Unable to help herself, Sanna slapped her hands over her mouth to suppress a laugh as Manny glared angrily at the man behind her.
"So, do you want to keep running or shall we consider the game at an end?" Daniel growled softly as he reached down and helped both Manny and Sanna to their feet, "You have all done well and yes, Manny, I chose to hold this little exercise within the forest to help confuse your senses. Just as your eyes are assaulted everyday with a myriad of images, you must learn to focus with your other senses, learn to filter out the things you are looking for. But as I say, for a first attempt you have all done well."
"You, you are insufferable. First you set us an impossible task and then you treat what should be serious training like a child's game." Manny gripped angrily again as she brushed at the mud covering her kimono and armor, "It's a wonder that woman, June had any patience for you at all. Was she blind or just stup,"
"Manny." Sanna barked out, partly to reprimand her friend but mostly to prevent Manny's mouth from running away with her as it usually did when the young woman was angry.
But too late, both women looked up at the man before them as a low, inhuman growl rose from him, his scowling, furious face darkening quickly. They drew together as Daniel trembled with fury, the flesh under his left eye twitching as light, grey smoke escaped around the edges of the blindfold beneath his tightly knotted brows.
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"Dad. You have to adjust your balance all the time, it's completely different to a scooter." Ana called out, she and the twins had joined Sokka and Suki in watching Aang with a great deal of amusement as he continued trying to master the skates, beside the humans even Nyla had joined Appa in making hitching coughing sounds as Aang fell on his face yet again, "Keep your knees bent and your back straight. Keep trying and you'll get it, Daddy."
"He's not having much luck so far, is he?" Suki said softly, her blue eyes twinkling as she covered her grinning mouth with one hand.
They watched Aang rise to his feet once again, summoning the spinning ball of air to his hands before he split it in two and jumped to apply the mini scooters to his feet again. This time as he came down, Aang shot sideways several feet before his legs flew out from under him, dropping him heavily onto his side in the snow.
"As much as I love your father, Ana." Katara said as she came over to join them, "It's a nice to see him struggling to master something for a change."
Fresh laughter erupted as Aang again applied the air skates to his feet, flying a dozen yards across the field before he ran into a small snowdrift and toppled over to land on his face once more, skidding several more yards beyond the drift before leaping to his feet and beginning again.
"Well, he's persistent at least." Toph said happily, coming over to join them as well with Gyatso in her arms, the little boy clapping his hands with delight as his father fell over again, "Remember when I started his Earthbending training, Sweetness? He used to run away every time I threw a rock at him."
They watched quietly for a while, the small group occasionally breaking out in fresh laughter as Aang continued his attempts but after one particularly comical fall, Aang raised his snow covered face with a frown at the same time as Toph spun to face the forest nearby.
"Hey, I just felt Chuckles get mad as hell for a moment." Toph breathed quietly as the others joined her in looking toward the trees.
"Cuckle Ell." the little boy in Toph's arms said happily and Katara frowned at her friend.
But everyone at the edge of the fields turned at the rapidly approaching sounds of a pair of loud shrieks, two green and brown figures suddenly appeared flying and tumbling out from high over the forest, dropping down to land atop the huge pile of snow at the edge of the cleared area. Snow sprayed out in all directions from the impact, almost burying the four still sitting and working on their Bending next to it, the small fire between them hissing loudly as it was extinguished. Two pairs of brown boots at the ends of two sets of pale, mud splattered bare legs poked from the top of the now much shortened mound, their green kimonos having ridden up with their upper halves buried in the snow. Those who had been seated around the fire rose, brushing snow from themselves before Zuko and Iroh hurried up the now much shortened mound. Azula smirked as she watched her brother and uncle extract Sanna and Manny from the snow and help the two unsteady women down from the mound.
At least it wasn't me today. Azula thought to herself with a pleasant smile.
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Everyone was a little concerned when Daniel did not make an appearance for the rest of the day, both Aang and Toph reassuring them that they could feel the man close by but they told their friends and family quietly and in private about how dark and brooding the man's emotions had become. But later that night, Aang at least was a little reassured.
The Kyoshi Warriors with Iroh, Piandao, Lao and the children were leaving the next day with Bumi on his airship. For dinner that evening, Aang had knocked down the rear wall of their guesthouse, extending the already long, stone table into the rear neighbors courtyard, they of course more than happy to comply with this once they received their invitation to dine with the famous leaders and hero's. The extra space was needed for the crews of both airships, Kyoshi Island's Pilot, Harmot taking their balloon home the next day. There were also several town dignitaries and prominent traders, the Mayor and tavern owner getting the closest seats to any of the Gaang or their family. It became something of a formal affair, with speech's and toasts, honors and platitudes heaped upon the embarrassed Gaang and their friends.
Which was why when dinner was over and the children settled inside, when Toph slapped her chit (her identification with her family's flying boar crest and appropriate signatures) before the tavern owner and offered to purchase his establishment for one night, everyone was more than happy to spend a few hours at what was now temporarily called, Toph's Thirsty Hole. Half of everyone laughed uproariously when she announced the name, the other half only shaking their heads sadly at the young Earthbender.
As the evening promised to be a true party, Mai and Katara had intended only to stay for a few minutes but after a while, even Aang was enjoying himself as hours later the Warriors from Kyoshi were still getting laughs as they told stories about their good friend, Lisomi and Captain Jee, some stories with a heroic theme, most though were downright embarrassing.
The moon was already high in the star studded sky when a dark figure slipped from a side entrance of the tavern. As silent as a ghost this figure ran lightly around the building, keeping to the shadows as it found the stacked water barrels which seemed to lurk around such establishments. Still in perfect silence the figure ran lightly up and onto the barrels, leaping from the topmost one to grab a stone buttress jutting out from the rooftop. Kicking their legs, the figure flipped up, twisting as they pushed themselves up and away and a young woman dropped lightly onto the apex of the roof. Here was a wide flat surface with the steep roof tiles sloping away either side and for a moment Azula stood and looked out over the village, the tavern being one of the largest structures in town it gave her a view out over the rest of the town and the fields beyond the wall. Brushing her burnt, orange bangs back behind her ears, her slightly longer than shoulder length midnight black hair tied back in a simple ponytail, Azula's eyes flashed golden in the moonlight before she settled herself into a medative position on the rooftop, taking a slow deep breath as her eyes closed.
They opened again an instant later and Azula's head snapped to the side, looking along the roof to the deep shadows next to the chimneys there and seeing a faint glint of silver as something moved.
"Don't mind me. I'm not much in the mood for parties either." Daniel's rumbling growl rose from the shadows, "I came up here for the same reason I imagine you did. Solitude."
"And yet, with all the world to choose from," Azula said in a cold voice, turning away to stare out over the rooftops again, "Here you are. Directly over the party you say you're seeking to avoid."
"As are you, Azula." Daniel replied softly, his soft chuckle rising over the faint sounds of laughter and voices coming from the tavern beneath them, "And I feel, that as much as both of us desire solitude this evening, neither of us can bring ourselves to go far from our family."
"Yes, well." Azula said a touch angrily at the fact the man was right but a moment later she glanced slyly at his from the corner of her eyes and finished with a smirk, "You know, there's two members of 'OUR' family down there who are rather eager to pay you back for their little flying lesson today. It seems, Sanna and Manny have quite the vengeful streak."
"Good." Daniel's growl was like a soft sigh rising from the deeper shadows at the end of the roof, "It means they'll work harder then."
Azula turned to look into those shadows beside the chimneys, her eyes now picking out Daniel's slightly darker shape sitting in the same position as her own.
"I'm not a fool, you know." Azula hissed, her golden eyes narrowed as she glared at him, "I know that's exactly why you treat me like you do. All the insults, knocking me down, embarrassing me in front of the others. You're trying to use my anger to encourage me, drive me. Aren't you?"
"I never took you for a fool, Azula." Daniel said quietly with another soft chuckle, "Spoiled maybe, arrogant definitely, infuriating, defiant, insolent, a bit of a show pony and not let's not forget,"
"I assume you have a point?" Azula interrupted angrily.
"Only what I told you that first day. I never would have set out to train you if I didn't think you were worth it, Azula." the growl dropped from Daniel's voice as he spoke softly from the shadows, "You've cast aside your old ways of thinking, seeking to replace the emptiness in your heart by drawing those who care about you in, rather than pushing them away. And you've chosen to do this by making something greater of yourself than the weapon your father first tried to create in you. Listen well, Azula for you're not likely to hear this from me again but…I admire you." Azula blinked in surprise but the man in the shadows continued in a soft voice, "You had a violent and difficult upbringing, your father's abuse and his methods of control…well, I've consumed demons who would blanch at the kind of things he did. Yet you remained the perfect daughter, doing everything, being everything he demanded until it cost you everything. Since then you've rediscovered the true values of family through your brother's love and care. You've developed a taste for what Zuko has shown you and it is that which will guide you to becoming as great a person and Avatar as Aang. But the reason I admire you is because of the differences between us. Do you know what that is, Azula?"
She shook her head silently, staring intently at the shape in the shadows. Apart from when Daniel was instructing her on a particular move or describing aspects of the natural world to her, Azula had rarely heard so many words at once from the man and though he had touched on things she still felt uncomfortable with, she found herself almost mesmerized by his deep, soft voice. Fascinated that he was speaking so openly with her for once.
"The difference between us was that I had it all. Parents who loved and doted on me, a caring family and though my world was often at war I was never abused or forced to do what I did not wish. Yet with all that, I was just as bad and often as cruel as you at your worst. The prodigal son of the Avatar and the world's greatest Earthbender, that was me. From an early age I considered myself better than ordinary people. An attitude that only got worse as I grew older, my skills and abilities growing with me. Kuzon and I…well, I've sugar coated a few of the stories I've told the others down there." Daniel's hand patted the rooftop of the tavern beside himself and he continued after a soft sigh, "I wasn't the greatest influence for my best friend. Put simply, we were a pair of thugs and bullies. Away from our parents watchful eyes we took what we wanted, hurt those who annoyed us or humiliated them in ways we thought of as fun. Simply because we considered ourselves better than everyone else. Reena was the one who always stopped us, she was the influence that brought out the best in us both. Away from me, Kuzon was usually better behaved but on my own, I was always just as bad as ever. My parents had the love and respect of almost everyone for the work they did and I expected to be treated the same way but I decided from an early age that it was easier to make them respect me rather than to earn it. It wasn't until I lost it all that I looked back and realized that not once in my short life had I done anything to truly earn anyone's respect. Not once had I applied the teachings my family had tried to instill in me except to turn those skills against others. That's why I'm here now, to make it all right. I wish I knew if that is even truly possible. What price do you put on another's pain and humiliation? Or even someone's life? How much is redemption worth? And yet I have to try. I'll never be redeemed if I stop trying."
Daniel's voice trailed into silence and Azula continued to sit quietly at her end of the roof, her golden eyes gazing softly into the shadows at it's other end. She'd heard the faint touch of sadness in the man's voice but also deep seated bitterness, regret and pain.
"You're very melancholy tonight and I don't see why you would admire me." Azula said in a terse, cold voice but regretted it instantly, her face and voice softening a moment later, "I may have been doing the things my father demanded of me but I never said I didn't enjoy any of it. I hated his…attentions…but I looked forward to every chance to go out and immerse myself in the war. Commanding soldiers and defeating my enemies, those were my only joys in life. To see the fear that they felt for me, my soldiers and enemies alike, that is what gave me my greatest pleasure until…until I saw it in Zuzu's eyes. Mai and Ty Lee's."
"At least you never killed any of them." Daniel's sharp voice carried his usual growl but his head turned toward Azula and in the darkness she saw a small grin on his face as his voice softened again, "But you're right, enough melancholy. Would you like to join me on a hunt?"
"A hunt?" Azula asked incredulously, "It's nearly midnight and you want to go train?"
"No training, Azula. I promise, no insults, no humiliation. Just hunting." Daniel said softly, rising to his feet his upper half emerged into the moonlight and she could see his grin had softened into a small smile, "Lately Wolf has been going out with Nyla about this time but she's had such fun with the kids today I doubt I could wake her. I have decided to send her with Hakoda and Maki so I need to supply Bumi's airship with enough meat for Nyla. Hunting is much more than just satisfying hunger or the thrill of the chase, it's almost a form of meditation. A way of letting go of our human thoughts and concerns and letting our animal sides guide us for a time. I imagine the tigress would enjoy a chance to stretch her legs too."
Azula stared at the man for a moment. In truth she would enjoy nothing more than to change into the tigress again, the feelings of freedom and peace that came with the change were intoxicating. If Azula had had a frame of reference, she might have compared the experience to a lover's embrace.
"I, I don't think I can." Azula began, trying to disguise the disappointment from her voice with a bored tone, "I mean, I've only managed the change a few times and it kind of happened by itself when I was…emotionally affected. And to be honest, I don't fancy running through the forests or the fields in the dark anyway."
A small chuckle rose from Daniel and he turned to walk slowly over to Azula, stopping before her with a wide smile on his face.
"Actually, I would have preferred you learn how to make the transition to tiger and back again on your own but Wolf knows a way to help you there and it's best you learn this now." he said, holding out a hand to Azula which she ignored, rising to her feet herself, "How about it, Azula? Wolf would like nothing more than to hunt with Laohu. And while Wolf and I are separate beings, I share his senses as he shares mine. To hunt in your animal form is a…unique experience."
"You, you mean you could have just shown me all along?" Azula said, her voice rising slightly in anger.
Faster than she could see, Daniel's hand has suddenly at Azula's throat making her jerk away in response but she paused when she saw the long string she kept around her neck hooked over his finger, the small blue sapphire at it's end coming free of her shirt and shinning in the moonlight.
"Something given has little value except that which we attribute to it. There is much about your Avatar abilities I could simply give to you but I will not. What you learn for yourself will carry far more value and meaning." Daniel's voice was deep and soft, devoid of it's usual growl again but the corners of his mouth quirked upward in a small grin, "But this, the strength, freedom and peace the tigress embodies, this I think you've earned. Now, if you truly would like to join Wolf for tonight's hunt," his grin widened, "Strip."
"What?" Azula called out, stepping back hurriedly.
"Unless you want to come back to the village naked, give me your clothes and weapons for later." Daniel said with a soft chuckle, unselfconsciously stripping his loincloth from himself and putting it into his silver backpack. Then, still grinning, he placed his hands over his blindfolded face, "If it helps, I promise I won't look."
Azula narrowed her eyes, once again frustrated and angered by the man's teasing but still, she wanted to run as the tigress again more than anything. Her frown turned into a superior smirk as Azula cast her inhibitions and doubts aside, lifting her shirt slowly over her head. With the quarter moon shining down and many windows in the village around still brightly lit, Azula then bent at the waist, removing her belt with her sai and her trousers, kicking her boots off last. Standing proud and naked, Azula thrust her belongings out, Daniel silently taking them and slipping them into his seemingly bottomless backpack. Then she jumped, her eyes going wide and her arms flashing up to cover her breasts as Daniel thrust out his hand toward her.
"The pendant, woman." Daniel growled with a frown, "Unless you'd rather go searching for the stone yet again. I'll keep it safe until later."
Blushing a little in embarrassment for her misunderstanding, Azula lifted the tiny blue sapphire on it's string over her head and passed it to Daniel. Once he had tucked it away he stood silently, looking out over the rooftops.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Azula demanded after a moment, highly conscious that they were standing naked together atop the tavern, the tallest building in the village.
"For the right moment." Daniel said softly without turning.
"Which is?" she demanded again, a little panicky now as she spied shadows moving through the street below.
"Now."
Again faster than she could see or react, one of Daniel's hands flashed out and slapped itself to Azula's forehead but she gave an involuntary gasp of surprise and horror when she felt his other hand pressing over her heart, directly between her breasts. Such was her shock that she almost missed the strange twisting sensation in her mind but her focus was mainly on the naked man standing before her with his hand upon her bare chest.
"Hey." Azula intended to shout angrily but what she heard from her own throat was a deep, rumbling growl.
Blinking in surprise, Azula looked down at herself, seeing dark, orange furred paws and twisting her head around she saw her body was now the same dark orange with black stripes. Around her the night shone brilliantly, the faint moonlight illuminating the rooftops like the noonday sun and from all around, scents rose and drifted in the air like diffuse clouds. The tavern below was roaring with sound and Azula realized she could pick out individual voices, even further out in the village she could hear words and sounds as people went about their business in their homes. Turning her feline face back to Daniel she saw the man had gone and Wolf now sat on the roof next to her. The leather strip that Daniel wore over his missing eyes was still in place around Wolf's head and while the man's silver backpack always seemed to become a part of the Wolf's body when he changed, the wide silver hair band with the skulls face was still wrapped about one of Wolf's forelegs.
There now, fire child. In future think of Laohu, hold her in your heart and her form will come. came a series of growls and slight movements from Wolf that Azula understood perfectly, When you are ready, concentrate on woman you are and that shape will return.
I, I'm calm and I'm still me…I mean, Laohu me. Azula thought with amazement, her body responding with soft growls and twitches, And I can understand you. This isn't like before when you spoke in my mind. It's like another language.
Not so easy to understand you. In nature only words, food, mine, happy, angry, child, parent, mate. Not much else needed. replied Wolf, a touch of humor evident in his posture, You will learn much just by doing. Wolf's boy fears to show you too much too soon but he understands, this you need now.
He doesn't trust me, does he? Azula growled angrily, the thick fur on her neck rising as her golden eyes narrowed, That's why he fears me.
He does not fear you, child. He fears for you. Do you not understand the difference? the Wolf's reply carried a touch of impatience as he rose to his feet and turned to look out over the village toward the south. When the animal spoke next his tone and posture softened considerably, Come, let us put thought and concern behind. Tonight let Wolf and Tigress join the eternal dance between predator and prey. Let your mind relax, Avatar Tigress. Let our instincts guide us and together, for a time, let us know the peace of the hunt.
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Aang, Katara and Mai were making their way from the tavern to their guesthouse, their way brightly lit thanks to Aang's Firebending and the many lanterns strung around the village. Aang bounced along, humming a tune the musicians had been playing in the tavern but beside him, the two women each suppressed a yawn at the same moment. They looked to each other with a slightly embarrassed grin, turning to give the brightly lit tavern a last glance before they turned a corner, the sounds of music and voices raised in revelry still clearly heard from two streets away.
"Sometimes Mai, I have to wonder. That dirty minded little Earthbender of yours has your husband so drunk he can barely stand, not forgetting I've watched her drink enough tonight to pickle a Lion-turtle." Katara said to her friend with a grin, "By the time they drag themselves home, if they get that far, they're both going to be in a very nice state. Plus, no doubt tomorrow I'll have to do something for their hangovers before we can leave. And you really want to marry her?"
Knowing Katara was only teasing, Mai laughed softly, smoothing her dress over her slightly distended stomach and her baby there (as was becoming a constant habit with her).
"Toph doesn't get hangovers and Zuko almost never gets to let his hair down and just have fun so, actually, I think it's a good thing. To be honest, if I wasn't carrying Kuzon I'd still be in there myself doing that little stomping, groping dance they invented." Mai spoke casually but her lips compressed as she fought back a smile and both Katara and Aang laughed at their friend. Though when Mai spoke next, her voice was soft and filled with emotion, "She's the best thing that ever happened to Zuko and I. I could never deal with Zuko's moods, how he would get so angry and frustrated sometimes but Toph knows how to turn his aggression onto herself and they both love every minute of it when they spar together. As for me, Toph is everything I wish I could be. She can be the perfect lady one moment, placating and kissing up to all the other nobles and the next, she can walk around a corner and chat to a group of factory or field workers like she had been born one of them. That…indomitable openheartedness of hers, that's one of the thing's I love most about Toph. Without her, I don't think there would even be a Zuko and I."
"Aw, that's so sweet, Mai. You sure you didn't have a few drinks?" Katara said teasingly but reached out to take the woman's hand in her own and giving it a warm squeeze, "Actually, I agree. You and Zuko have never looked so happy since,"
"Uh, ladies?" Aang interrupted with a smile.
Katara looked questioningly to her husband but he only pointed upwards, both she and Mai turning their faces up just in time to see the shapes of two large animals sail over the gap between the rooftops above them silently and disappear again.
"Was that Azula and Daniel?" Mai asked, still looking up but of the animals there was now no sign or sound.
"Azula and Wolf, I think." Aang said with a small smile, "Well, Daniel's there too, I suppose. I could feel him. He's…"
Aang fell silent and the two women next to him turned to him with concerned expressions but at the small smile on Aang's face they relaxed.
"What is it, Aang?" Katara asked her husband.
"Oh, sorry, I was following them with my mind." Aang said, blushing slightly as he turned back to Katara and Mai, "It's just, I've been a bit worried about Daniel, you know, since June died. He keeps saying he's alright and in control but sometimes I can feel how…dark and lonely his emotions become. But just now, he…well, he wasn't happy exactly…more, content. It's the first time I've felt him so relaxed in days."
"That's good. I've noticed he's been isolating himself a little from us. We hardly see him outside of training." Mai said softly as the trio began their walk home again but a moment later the young Firelady gave an uncharacteristic snort of laughter, "I was just thinking. Azula always has such, ahem, expressive opinions of him when she comes back from training with Daniel. I was just wondering what she will have to say about this little midnight training session tomorrow."
The other two shared Mai's laughter for a moment until Katara suddenly jumped as Aang's hand snuck around and squeezed her behind, her husband then giving her a suggestive wink.
"I could think of some midnight training we could catch up on." Aang said quietly.
Mai rolled her eyes as they walked along, Katara frowning at first but then turning a sly grin back at her husband.
"Oh, yes Aang, that would be a marvelous idea. With our two kids sharing the room with us, our niece and nephews in the next room. Perhaps we could sneak into Azula's room so she can come home later and find us at it, I'm sure she won't mind. Or maybe we could jump into bed next to Mai if she promises to keep her eyes closed." Mai struggled to hold her laughter in as Katara chided her husband in a sarcastic tone, "Honestly, Aang. Your wife, currently four months pregnant, has been up since the early hours of this morning. We've been training most of the day and planning this trip to the dragons, worrying about our kids trip to these other dragons. Now it's somewhere past midnight and you want to get in a quick one? Dream on, Loverboy."
Aang hung his head though he was not overly chastised. He was used to occasionally saying the wrong thing to his wife and bearing the brunt of her (sometimes explosive) anger but on the usual scale for Katara's outbursts, this one barely registered. Aang turned his head, hiding a small smile as an idea occurred to him, an idea that quite often lead to exactly to what he had been contemplating with his wife. Turning back, Aang looked at Katara, his grey eyes large and sorrowful.
"I'm sorry, Babe. That was a very thoughtless suggestion." Aang said as he slipped his hand into Katara's, "Would it make it up to you if I gave you a nice foot massage to, uh, help you get to sleep?"
Katara was sorely tempted even though she knew where his massages normally lead but at a barely audible, envious sigh from her other side, Katara knew exactly how to beat Aang at his own game.
"A foot rub sounds good and I might just forgive you afterward." Katara said, smiling to her husband, Aang's grin growing again, "But only if you do Mai's feet too."
Aang's face fell as the two women beside him laughed uproariously, walking happily back to their guesthouse in eager expectation of putting the young man's hands to a use he certainly had not intended.
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Beyond the mortal world in a realm between realms, a place usually home to a mix of living and spirit beings, only demons now walked the blasted, barren plains the landscape here had become. Far into this realm, the demons were thickly packed, billions of beings of all shapes and sizes that had come to this one place to serve another being far worse than themselves. In one place, the demons had drawn back, creating a wide clear circle several scores of yards wide and in the center of this cleared area a half dozen grey cloaked humans stood back to back, their faces grim but each holding swords ready before themselves. On the edge of the circle, two beings stood in their own small clear space, no demon willing to get too near to this pair.
One was a woman, her long hair and flowing dress both black as the darkest sky, small points of light twinkling like stars set in both her hair and dress. Her fine, elfin features would have made anyone who did not know of her see her as achingly beautiful but at the moment her face was set in a cold, cruel grin, her deep purple eyes glaring triumphantly at the grey cloaked people in the circle.
The one beside her could only be considered human in general shape. A sneering, man's head sat atop a being ten feet tall, his body covered in matt black plates of armor that displayed the musculature of the huge creature. A long thick tail rose from behind this man/creature and up over his head, covered in the same black plate as the rest of his body and with a wickedly curved spike at it's end.
"You can do your worst to us, Fate." spat a man in a grey robe amongst the others in the cleared space, "But you'll get no satisfaction from us. We won't bow to your control any longer."
"And that, my Phoenix, implies that one is their leader. Save him for last." Fate said softly to the black creature at her side, then raising her voice, Fate address the half dozen within the circle, "At this point I could give you a rather pointless speech about how futile it would be for you to fight but to be honest with you, that simply wouldn't be as much fun now, would it?"
The creature at her side reached up with a huge, armor coated, clawed hand and smoothed down the long, unkempt black hair atop his human head, his face splitting into a cruel and eager grin. The creature suddenly vanished and the six within the circle found themselves just as suddenly reduced to four. Looking around they saw the huge black monster holding a young looking man up off the ground in one hand while another, a middle-aged woman was impaled through her chest and hanging limply from it's tail. The man being held was wide eyed with fear but swung his sword at the arm holding him, the weapon only bouncing harmlessly off the creature's armor. The beast's human mouth opened to release a loud roar as sickly yellow light erupted from his eyes and washed over the man he held. At the same moment, a ring of crackling white energy raced along the creature's tail and the limp figure at it's end was simply blasted to ash with a concussion that sent many of the demons surrounding them stumbling back. Of the man the creature had been holding, everything above his enclosing fist was gone, eaten away by the energy released from the monster's eyes and he dropped the smoking remains unceremoniously, the multitudes of demons all around the circle pressing back and away further as the creature turned his grin on them. The remaining four grey robed humans each turned to face the black armored monster, their faces fearful and the tips of their weapons wavering in the air but as one they charged the beast silently. The huge creature simply vanished again, reappearing near to Fate and of the four who had been charging at him the other way, two skidded to a halt with horrified expressions as their other two comrades fell to the ground, their arms falling away from their shoulders before their chests simply separated from their waists, their remains smoking as the pieces tumbled over the ground.
"Control, my child." Fate said coolly to her creation, "Only send the others into the long sleep. Spare the,"
But, ignoring Fate, the creature snarled at the remaining pair of men and streaked across to them in a blur. Both grey robed warriors swung their weapons at the blurring figure but one, the one who had spoken originally, grunted as a long curved spike drove through his abdomen, the beast's long black tail lifting the man easily from the ground. The remaining human had his sword and the hand holding it torn away as the huge black creature started simply tearing the man apart, digging long, clawed fingers into the screaming man and pulling pieces of flesh and limbs away. Here, in the spirit realms, there was no blood or gore but it was obvious the human was in agony as his torn and shredded body slowly dissolved into white smoke that dissipated quickly into the air.
Bright purple energy suddenly crackled over the huge creature, his armored body convulsing as he dropped to his knees and clutched at his human head. The reason for this became obvious when he turned his snarling face toward Fate who held a single finger in the air, the same purple energy crackling about her upraised hand. The final grey robed human, held high and impaled on the creature's tail spike, fought through the pain burning inside him and jabbed his sword into the back of the creature's neck, where the black armor met human flesh and was rewarded with the tiniest of cuts. The creature roared again, though mostly from enraged surprise than any pain from the tiny cut and spun around, tearing the human from his tail spike and raising a clawed hand to rip the struggling man apart. Again the bright purple fires burned over the beast's black armor and he collapsed to his knees once more.
"I said control, my child. Do not forget to whom you belong." Fate intoned casually but the threat was clear in her glaring eyes, "Now, search your memories, employ Koh's favorite move and end this."
With a subservient nod but still glaring angrily, the creature rose to his full ten feet, lifting the weakly protesting man in both hands and holding him before his glaring human face. The human, his grey robes as torn and tattered as his body, knew what was coming and struggled harder but could do nothing to break the grip of the long fingers wrapped about his arms and chest. The creature's glaring eyes flashed with a diseased yellow glow but the light rapidly faded, the light in his eyes reversing to become twin pits of inky, bottomless blackness. The man in the creature's grip stopped his struggles, staring horrified but also mesmerized by those black pits, the darkness within them deeper than a mere lack of light and the man's eyes responded with a soft, white blue glow that stretched out away from him and fell into that darkness. First his eyes, then the flesh of the man's face seemed to stretch out, his entire body diminishing as he was drawn into the creature's black eyes. As the man's body rapidly faded, white sand fell to the ground beneath the creature's upraised fists and soon that was all that remained as the man disappeared and the darkness in the creature's eyes faded to be replaced by yellow human orbs.
"There, my Phoenix." Fate said, smiling sweetly to the creature, "What have you learned?"
"He knew nothing important." the creature intoned in a deep, grating voice but far from disappointed his human face smiled as a forked, greenish tongue protruded and licked at his grinning lips, "They were sent to patrol the boundary between the realms but they were also told to look for a newly arrived soul. A woman the Nomad seeks."
Fate's smile widened as her creation walked back over to her, the ground shaking from his footsteps.
"It may seem insignificant, Phoenix but that speaks volumes to me." Fate said quietly, then smiled sweetly at the creature again, "He's seeks your toy, my sweet. She was his love and that we can use to our advantage. You have not broken your toy yet, I hope?"
"No, mother. She persists." the creature rumbled with a petulant expression, "Her screams and struggles grow tiresome though. She does not have the…fortitude, the…strength of…there was…another,"
The creature's human face dissolved into confusion, a huge black armored hand rising to rub at the side of his head.
"Both your spirit and mortal memories will return fully in time, my baby and soon you will be ready for a visit to the mortal realm but we must complete your training first." Fate said, her cruel smile growing. The woman turned to walk away, demons scattering from her path, "Come, Phoenix. In time you shall test your skills against the Nomad but not until you have mastered your control. And obedience. And when the time is right, your toy may just yet have some uses as well."
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Azula was having the most unusual dreams she'd ever experienced. Ever since that night a little over a week ago, when her spirit had been joined to that of the tigress, her dreams no longer had the same devastating impact but still her dreams tended to focus on memories from her violent upbringing.
But tonight, Azula's first dream had focused on the hunt she had shared with Wolf. Moving quickly and silently through the forest, her senses heightened to the point that every tree, ever leaf, every root and every living thing in the forest was plainly visible to her. They'd scouted out a small herd of Fox-antelope first, Wolf and Tiger working together to bring down an elderly, slightly lame antelope. Azula, in her powerful tigress's body had dragged the carcass high into a tree for safe keeping before they'd moved on, next hunting down a saber toothed Moose-lion. The beast had obviously been one of those who had fought with them a week before, it's huge body still displaying many half healed scars but it had also still proved to be a difficult kill, the animal only going down after Azula had latched her huge jaws about the moose-lion's throat while Wolf attached his own jaws to the beast's snout, their combined weight dragging it down. It had succumbed quickly after that and again, they had moved on in search of fresh prey.
Azula's eyes opened, ending her dreams of the hunt, remembering the exquisite feelings of freedom and belonging that had come from hunting with Wolf. It was still very dark in the forest, clouds obscuring the night sky but Azula's eyes saw everything perfectly in the small hollow between the trees in which she lay. Beside her, Wolf lay curled around on himself breathing gently in his own sleep and Azula was not surprised to find herself a tigress still. They had stopped here, after dragging their kills to this small clearing in the forest and it had seemed perfectly natural to curl up together in their animal forms, sharing their body warmth in the chill winter's night. She knew Daniel was a part of the Wolf as well and Azula wondered with a mental chuckle just what her reaction might have been if she'd awoken as a human next to him instead of Wolf. Still, she could not bring herself to think of her current situation as odd, as the tigress her mind was her own but her human worries and concerns seemed distant, almost as though they belonged to someone else. Azula laid her large, orange and black striped head back down beside Wolf, her golden eyes closing and she slipped back into sleep with a touch of regret that things could not always remain just the way they were.
Azula's next dream was the most disturbing of her life. It was as though she stood outside herself, looking down at what she at first assumed was one of the memories from her childhood of her father's frequent abuse. She did not know where she was, only the two figures before her having any distinctive form but with a shock, Azula realized the version of herself she was looking down upon was herself as she was now, not her child self she usually dreamed of and it came as a greater shock still when that other self moaned loudly in unmistakable pleasure as the man with her moved atop her. Disgust and curiosity warred within her as Azula struggled to focus on the man but he seemed indistinct, impossible to see clearly and yet somehow seeming familiar. Looking into her own face below the man, Azula looked into an expression she'd never imagined her face could make, her flushed features expressing pure enjoyment and when her golden eyes opened, she gazed up at the man making love to her with undisguised love.
The dream took on an even more disturbing twist as Azula's perspective suddenly changed. Suddenly she was the woman making love to the indistinct man, mind numbingly intense pleasure filling her entire being as their bodies moved together. Azula's thoughts seemed frozen at something she would be horrified to find herself doing and while the sensations and emotions roiling through her were unfamiliar, everything seemed so natural and more real than anything she had experienced in a dream before. Without conscious control, her arms came up, her hands tenderly cupping the man's face and an instant later he snapped into clear focus.
Azula sat up with a gasp, a hand clutched to her chest as her wide eyes darted from side to side, the memory of the dream and the unfamiliar sensations still strong within her.
"Bad dreams again?" came a soft, deep growl nearby and Azula's head snapped to the side to see Daniel across the small clearing, his back to her as he dismembered the carcasses they had collected the night before, "Don't worry. You will master the dreams in time. Laohu should be helping."
"Dreams. Yes. Yes, bad dreams. A nightmare, that's what it was." Azula said hastily, shaking her head as though to shake the memories of the dream away, "That was all. Very bad, awful dreams."
Taking in her surroundings, Azula gasped again as she realized she was human again and very, very naked. She appeared to be laying on a thick animal skin laid on the ground and pooled about her legs, another furred skin had been thrown over her sometime during the night. Quickly pulling the pelt back up to cover herself, Azula looked around the clearing. The sky above the trees was just beginning to lighten with dawn's glow and a small fire burned in the center of the clearing. Across from Azula, Daniel had a large stone slab already piled high with cuts of meat and shanks cut from those carcasses he'd already dismembered.
"How long have you been awake?" Azula asked as she spied her clothes hanging from a tree branch stuck into the ground beside her makeshift bed, "And how did you do all this without waking me?"
"I've only been up for an hour or two but you may have noticed, I can move very fast and quiet when I want to. This should do Nyla for awhile." Standing from where he knelt, Daniel nodded at the stone slab piled high with cuts of animal flesh and turned to Azula, "After such a successful hunt I thought it best to let you sleep awhile longer. Wolf and I both thank you for your help last night."
"Err, that's fine…but," Azula said hesitantly, pulling the skin covering her higher, "Was I…human when you got up?"
Daniel gave a low chuckle as he moved to the fire, lifting a small stone pot from it's edge and producing a cup from his silver pack, he poured a cup of steaming tea. Walking over he knelt at Azula's side and held out the cup, frowning when she hesitated to take it.
"I am far less concerned for your feminine attributes, Azula than I am your skills and your state of mind. One of those, for the moment at least, I am satisfied with. The other still needs a great deal of work." Daniel growled, putting the cup on the ground and reaching for the stick with Azula's clothes, tossing them to her, "Get dressed. We are only a few miles from the village but I want to be back in plenty of time before the other's leave. And here, now that you can control your change to the tigress, I made you this."
From beneath Azula's clothes, hanging from the stick was a long, thin leather bag with a single, extra long strap and her sai were set in two sheaths sewn onto the outside of the bag. As Daniel held it out to her, Azula realized that it would be worn diagonally across her back and the long strap had a strangely shaped, bright silver buckle.
"The backpack should be big enough for your clothes and a few small, personal items." Daniel said quietly as Azula took the pack from him with one hand, "You don't want too much weight in it though. The buckle's made to slip and lengthen the strap when you change form. The strap should be long enough for your tigress's body so you can take your clothes with you wherever you go. I did the same for your stone. It's inside."
Daniel rose and walked over to kick some dirt over the small fire as Azula opened the top of the leather pack, her eyes going wide with wonder as she drew a tiny object from within. Her small blue, flame shaped sapphire, sparkling even in the faint light of predawn but it was not the only thing reflecting the light. Instead of the piece of string Azula had been using, Daniel had created a fine, long silver chain to hold the sapphire.
"The chain is adamantium, unbreakable but it has the same linkage as the backpack's buckle. It'll extend to fit about your tigress's neck as easily as your human one. Just pull the loose end to shorten it again." Daniel growled softly as he turned back to Azula with a small grin, "Don't get too excited. It's not a proposal. I just got sick of watching you look for the damn thing every time you broke the string."
Azula felt a small touch of annoyance at the man's words but was unable to pull her eyes away from her sapphire. The way the light seemed to be drawn into the tiny blue stone, making it shimmer and dance like a flame was enhanced by the bright silver chain it was now attached to. Slowly, she raised it over her head and pulled the end of the chain as Daniel had said, shortening the loop of chain until the sapphire hung at the nape of her neck, the remaining length of chain hanging down her front.
"I…Thank you, Daniel." Azula said softly, her eyes drawn from her pendant to the man who was such an enigma to her, one moment a hard and unforgiving task master, the next as caring and considerate to her as her brother had always been.
Daniel only shrugged, moving over to the slab of stone piled with meat and extending a hand, the slab rising to hover about waist height.
"As I said, they're as much for my own benefit as yours. Saves me having to carry your thing's for you. Now hurry up and dress. Once we have seen the others on their separate ways, we will be moving on ourselves." Daniel said, Azula giving him a quizzical look and receiving another grin, "I have heard a call from Ba Sing Sa, the kind of call you will learn to hear soon too. A nature spirit is requesting the assistance of the Avatar of Body and Nature. The spirit of all domesticated animals resides there and he is an old and dear friend of Wolf's. I remember him from my own world and I believe you've met him here once. It will be good to see old Bosco again."
Azula's eyes shot wide, her hands releasing the pelt she was covering herself with and it fell away unnoticed as she stared incredulously at Daniel.
"The King's pet? That's the spirit of domesticated animals?" Azula said in disbelief as Daniel only nodded with a grin, "That great flabby, hairy thing Ty Lee tried to teach tricks to? It's a badly dressed bear."
"Nevertheless. Besides, have you ever seen his like anywhere else in this world? Now get dressed and catch up with me quickly, I want us to be back in the village before the sun fully rises." Daniel growled softly and turned away with a light chuckle as he sent the stone slab with it's pile of meat gliding between the trees before himself, "And by the way, Azula. In the future, if you're going to lie to me about your dreams then please, try not to call out my name in your sleep."
Embarrassment and rage coursing through her, Azula's face burned as Daniel walked away, barking out a quick laugh as he followed his slab through the trees.