Chapter three: The Master
"Meisha, for Yue's sake, get out of bed! It's 8 o'clock, you're supposed to be with the other Warriors, NOW!"
That ow so tender voice was my mother's, making me shriek so I fell out of bed and groaned. She tore my sheet off and yelled something else, I was too tired to understand the mumble. After all, I was a sixteen-year-old teenager capable of sleeping till midday. But I wasn't counting on the fact that my mother would release the beast – my little brother. It took him only a few seconds to wake me up with his annoying roaring and jumping. Suddenly, I couldn't get out of that room soon enough.
Hoping to catch some time, I dressed myself while running to the garden, so when I arrived I was dressed. Sloppy, clumsy, but dressed. The other Warriors were already there, and I could see by their irritated faces that they had been waiting for me, as for my dad. He frowned his left brown and shot me a glare as in 'as usual', and I searched my place next to Amaya, the airbender.
"Right. Now that everyone is here, we can finally start."
The earthbender, Nobu, grinned, but quickly stopped when Amaya poked him in his stomach with her elbow, harder than was necessary. I took a step back and watched the others. Next to me, Amaya was standing in a typical orange airbending-rope, such as my father, only for women of course. Next to her, the earthbender Nobu was standing, in green of course. Dark green-brown loose shorts, a pair of sandals, a green shirt with a yellow line on the edge with an opening at the height of his chest and a typical topknot, always worn in the Earth Kingdom. And at the end of the line, Kenshin was standing, staring bored and annoyed at the ground, wearing almost exactly the same outfit as uncle Zuko's when he was training his fire bending. It was until then when I noticed he had the same eyes and cheekbones as his father's.
"Meisha, focus," and my dad snapped his fingers in front of my eyes to get my attention. The other warriors were laughing. What a great start, they were probably already thinking how immature I was.
"So, first of all, some introducing," my father continued. "At my right, we have Fire Warrior Kenshin, followed by Earth Warrior Nobu, Air Warrior Amaya, and Water Warrior Meisha." The earthbender started grinning again and whispered something in Kenshin's ear.
"What?" I said. "What's so funny about me?"
The earthbender now laughed and looked at me. "It's just, that he calls you a Warrior. That's funny since you're so little I mean, how old are you, 12?" and he laughed out loud, whipping the tears out of his eyes and slapped the firebender's shoulder as if they were best friends.
"Come again and say that in my face, I'll show you how old I am." Setting my hands ready for some bending, Amaya took one big step so she stood just between me and the bender.
"I think you both are acting like twelve-year-olds. We're here to learn and make friends, right?" and she smiled. Great, that typical motherly-protecting figure who hates fighting and all that crap about peace. Just what I needed.
"Thank you Amaya. For continuing, today each one of you will study with some of the best masters in the world. Today is all about learning new techniques and improving. Meisha, you're going to study with Master Pakku, mine and your mother's former teacher, and Master Akio. Master Pakku used to be Master Akio's pupil," and my dad showed his teeth with a smile. "For Nobu, we have Master Toph, the best earthbender in the world, and also metal! Kenshin, today you'll be studying with the Fire Lord himself, so show some respect and at least pretend you're interested. Amaya, you'll come with me of course."
While Amaya was overexcited by the fact she would be taught by the Avatar himself, and Nobu would be able to bow metal at the end of the day, I was regretting the fact that I wasn't a firebender so I could learn from my uncle. Instead of that, when I was moving my feet up to the watermasters, I was becoming aware that the two great masters were rather retired people.
"Warrior Meisha," and the 'youngest' one bowed. "It's an honour to meet you, at last."
"Well actually, you pronounce it as – "
"There is not enough time to talk, we can use all the time we need."
"Erm, okaaay..." and I scratched the back of my neck. Then I noticed the elder man. "Master Pakku I presume?"
"This is Master Akio, Warrior Meisha, I am Master Pakku," the first one said.
"Right. I think Master Akio can speak for himself, and actually, you pronounce it as –"
"Master Akio never talks. Now move forward, we have a lot of work to do Warrior Meisha."
"It's pronounced, aargh, nevermind." This was going to be a very long day.
"Can we please take a break for 5 minutes? We've been practicing for hours!"
"You think the enemy takes breaks? You think the enemy will stop for 5 minutes during a fight to let you catch your breath! Come back here and get back in starting position, I'm not done with you!"
I groaned. This man was as old as waterbending itself but still he was fitter than me. We were fighting since eight o'clock this morning and he had given me only one pause during dinner, about 15minutes. At that moment it was 7 o'clock in the evening and Master Pakku wouldn't allow me to have dinner until I controlled that one movement properly. During all the practicing and fighting, Master Pakku gave Master Akio questioning looks and the elder man always responded with a nod, from left to right, which mend it still wasn't good. And I was getting sick of it.
Master Pakku formed another whip of water and slapped me on the back, again. Frustrated, I turned around and tightened my hands till fists. "You do that one more time and I'll make you say you wish you were never born." I mentioned the sentence slowly, as if it would sound more threatening.
"Make me," he responded. "Ow I'll make you right." But I was quickly stopped by a hand resting on my shoulder. It was uncle Zuko.
"Master Pakku, not that I disapprove your studying methods, but as the Fire Lord I insist that my niece takes a small break, at least some time to eat dinner. And my servants are definitely not in the mood to clean up the mess she'll make once she activates her exceptional Warrior Skills. Believe me, it's not to be underestimated." He was right. Once I activate them – and I don't even know how I do that, it just happens – I cause a lot of damage. Last time that happened, I was at the same spot, and my uncle's servants were busy for days cleaning up the mess. Somehow, I had managed to bend an entire river to the palace, while the closest river was more than 30 miles away from here. And don't forget, I brought the fish as well. The rest of the week, fish was being served at dinner every day.
"Very well then, if The Fire Lord insists so." And we walked away.
"Thanks for helping me out."
"No problem. It's not healthy to skip a meal just to practice some more bending. Besides, I doubt if Master Pakku's working method is suitable for you."
I smiled. He was right. He knew me too well. Master Pakku was not the right teacher for me. Sure he was a great bender, and I had respect for his skills, but I still had a lot of trouble with waterbending, and a seventy-year-old man constantly yelling that you do it wrong, just because a ninety-year-old man nods so, wasn't really encouraging. It was so bad that I actually preferred my mother's methods. My mother was always harsh on me, and she expected me to do well, but she had patience and knew how I improved the most. Bending with my father was a nightmare since he was so naturally talented. He made it look easy, while it wasn't for me, and that annoyed me.
"So, how did it feel to be a teacher of a Warrior? Stressful?" I joked.
"Well, it's not quite big of a deal since I have taught an even bigger master."
I frowned my eyebrows, when it suddenly hit me. "You taught my father, the Avatar, how to bend fire?" Shocked by the statement, he confirmed it with a little smirk, and I began to wonder why my dad never had told me. He led me to the dining hall, where I found the other Warriors sitting around the table with empty bowls, plates and glasses.
"Well, that took quite some time. I'm so sorry, I was so hungry that I ate all the food!" The earthbender made a gesture as in 'don't hit me!' and I smiled. By the look on his face, it was clearly mend as a joke and I wondered if he wanted to make it up for this morning. I took a seat next to Nobu and he offered me some water. I responded with a thanks and shove my glass up to him so he could fill it. Amaya was smirking the whole time and I began to wonder if the earthbender was trying to be nice or if he just wanted to impress the airbender. After all, she was a beautiful young woman. Tall, light brown hair with a tint of red. Her hairline was placed more on the left side so she had a little fringe, the tips of her hair tightened together as a loose ponytail. And on her forehead there was a blue arrow, just as my father's.
"Be careful Nobu, she can also bend wine."
The two other Warriors and I turned our heads to the left. Kenshin was sitting next to Amaya, in front of Nobu, sharpening his sword and not even looking at me. I had almost forgotten about food when a servant placed a bowl of rice and a plate of meat in front of my nose.
"Uhm, riiiight," Amaya started to fill the painful silence. "So tell us Meisha, what's a young girl like you doing here?"
"Well actually," and I stopped eating to speak, although I was quite hungry. "You pronounce it as 'a and e'. So you pronounce the vowels separated."
"Ow sorry, I was just –"
"It's okay you're definitely not the first one. But, as an answer to your question, I'm here as the Water Warrior."
"Hmm, that's odd. I thought you were the Avatar's daughter," Nobu asked.
"I am...?" I answered, not quite understanding what the big deal was. Yet, I had almost forgotten it was most uncommon that a Warrior is a descendant of the Avatar. I smiled when they all frowned and stared at me with a questioning face as if I was weird, hoping the smile would make things a little more comfortable.
"Not that I want to insult you Meisha," and she tried to pronounce it properly, "but you don't look 16. But maybe it's just because you're not the tallest one." She tried to diminish the remark with one of her appealing smiles. Although it was not a compliment, I was still happy. I was glad that at least one of the Warriors was being friendly and I felt like I would get along with her. And I was also pleased that Nobu was trying his best to be friendly.
"Tell me Meisha," and the firebender stood up from his chair, placing his hands on the table and bowed to take a good look at me, "where does your pale skin come from?".
"Excuse me?" Not quite realizing he just said that, I saw Amaya giving him a face as in 'what are you doing, idiot', but the jerkbender was still staring at me with narrowed eyes, waiting for an answer.
"I- I ehm –" This was that moment when I asked myself why I hadn't just stayed with Master Pakku.
"Meisha, your break was long enough, we still have a lot of work to do."
Never thought I would be so releaved by the voice of that bitter old man. I left my seat as fast as I could and followed Master Pakku submissively. Amaya smiled and waved when I closed the door.
"What was that for, what's your problem Kenshin?" and she punched him in his stomach with her elbow.
"Nothing. I just don't... trust her, that's all."
"Jerk" she whispered softly.
"Can I go to bed now?"
"Out of the question Warrior Meisha, you can't even control the basic move."
"It's pronounced, urgh, why do I still try it!" I stopped bending and the water dropped on the grass, absorbed by the ground in only a few seconds. Master Pakku's left eyebrow raised and watched me patiently, assuming that I would continue. But I didn't. I was exhausted, frustrated and emotionally unstable. My buttocks sought for the nicest piece of rock and was happy to rest, while my head was slowly getting lost. Instead of a huge amount of yelling, Master Pakku took a seat next to me on the nearest rock, sighing.
"Your mother would never give up when it came down to bending."
"I know," I sighed. "Unfortunately for you, I'm unlike her."
The old man laughed out loud. "Unfortunately?" and he laughed even louder when he said that. "Warrior Meisha, do you have any idea how your mother was like when she was young?" Although he pronounced my name wrong, again, I couldn't wait to hear more about it, so I responded with a small 'no', hoping he would continue his story. And so he did.
"Your mother was one of the most disrespectful, unbearable, obstinate, stubborn woman I've ever met in my entire life. And that's exactly why I liked her so much." I frowned my eyebrows. "My mother, obstinate? From all the things –"
"You don't believe me? Your mother has never told you about her grand journey with the Avatar to the Northern Water Tribe to learn waterbending?"
"Well," and I hesitated. The stories were known over the whole world, at least the big chapters. Like how my father eliminated a bunch of Fire Nation ships. But never the details, at least not the details about my mother's behavior. "Everyone knows about the stories. But I've never had the chance of hearing it from my mother's voice," I said ashamed. I watched how the turtle-ducks were inspecting my feet, as if a foot is a most exceptional thing in the life of a turtle-duck. One of them even dared to touch a toe, but quickly pulled back. When he noticed the little monster wasn't moving, he did it again. Master Pakku glancing at the show.
"Your mother, Katara, she was a strong woman Meisha. She was always there for the others, to most of us almost like a mother. But before the arrive of your mother, it was inappropriate at the Northern Water Tribe to teach waterbending to women. Your mother, though, was brave, but also foolish enough to challenge me. She wanted to prove women were also capable of learning how to bend water. Although she didn't win, she had convinced me with her talented skills. If it wasn't for her, you would probably never be taught how to bend water, which means you would never be able to use your Warrior Skills. Worse, you wouldn't even be sitting here."
"Then how come she never told me?" I stood up and wanted to leave, but the old bender stopped me. "Meisha. I know you have a lot of issues with your mother. Neither of you told me, but I can see it in your eyes. Just remember, you're not the only one suffering."
I turned around and met his gaze. What did he know about it? "If my mother really suffers, she would at least try to make our relationship work." This was it, the training was done. I took off, up to my family's resident. When I entered, my mother was sitting in the sofa, reading some sort of book.
"How was your first day?"
"Couldn't 've been any better." And I banged my bedroom's door. But when I was lying on my bed, a knock on the door disturbed my rest. My mother.
"Hey, if you like to talk about it... I know Master Pakku's not the easiest –"
"Of course you know that! You fought him for Yue's sake! You were the first woman at the Northern Water Tribe who got lessons at bending, and you never told me, why! Why mom!" I was so furious! What else was there left to know I was thinking. What else was she keeping secret. Her face soured and she didn't quite find the words to start. Therefore, she stared at the floor. I pinched my nose but quickly stopped when I saw she was frowning at me. "What?"
"Since when... Since when do you pinch your nose?"
"I've been doing it since I was able to do so, my entire life! God, you really pay a lot of attention to me, don't you? And in fact, does it actually matter?"
My mother narrowed her eyes, took a good glare at me, turned around in one swift movement and left my room without saying anything. What kind of question was that? I made myself comfortable in bed again, trying to catch some sleep.
I slept for an hour or so when I opened my eyes again, realizing it was still evening. Maybe some fresh air would do me good. So I went up to my window, and finally managed to open it since the metal work was rusty. Scared to wake my parents by the irritating sound of the rusty metal, I opened the window very slowly. The wind was strong and cool, and the temperature was exactly perfect for a waterbender. Tonight was full moon, so for a real waterbender it was impossible to sleep properly. But I was that kind of waterbender who never had troubles with sleeping through a full moon. This was the first time, though. But I think that my sleeping issues more had to do with today than the full moon.
I shrieked when I noticed a bright yellow light down my window. Trying to look better, which was very hard in the dark, plus I hadn't had the chance today to do my daily healing session with my left eye, I saw the bright light was fire, operated by a firebender. It was Kenshin.
He stopped after several bending styles and took a deep breath. I knew that the source of firebending was respiration, you do learn a lot about other nations when your dad's the Avatar. His golden eyes were very remarkable in the dark, and so I noticed immediately that his had been fallen on mine. He just stared, surely aware that I had been watching him. After some seconds I took a step back and closed my window, suddenly not really caring if the irritating sound would wake my parents. To end the staring contest, I closed the pink curtains and released a relieved breath when I placed my back on the window, sliding down on the floor. I looked at my hands, pale and white. Where does my pale skin come from? I began to cry.
The rest of the week, I was forced into practice with Master Pakku and Master Akio's observing eye. And to make things worse, Wednesday I had to practice with my father, Friday with my mother. As if learning from my father wasn't bad enough, I had almost activated my Warrior Trance during exercising with my mother. But, I had to admit, my mother was a talented master and she also managed to improve me the most. At the end of the week, it was around 4 o'clock pm, Master Pakku suddenly stopped me while I was practising the newest waterbending form, placing his hand on my shoulder and offering me a small smirk.
"You are a master, Warrior Meisha," he said, and turned around walking up to Master Akio, who was watching me with a pleased smile. Then, he stood up too and followed the youngest master to the corridors. I was left behind, satisfied by his compliment. I was a master.