Chapter 4: Turtleducks

There was a small lake in Republic City where Bolin liked to go.

He would go and bathe there with his brother when they were still boys living in the street. Once that they got into Pro-Bending and did not need to go and bathe in the waters of the lake anymore, Mako stopped going to that part of the city altogether. Bolin, on the other hand, genuinely liked the place. He would go there with Pabu and feed the turtleducks as often as he could.

Mako would be furious if he knew that Bolin was giving their food away, but Bolin simply always liked to share. To him, no living creature ever deserved to feel the hunger that he himself experienced during his childhood. Sure, the turtleducks had other ways to feed themselves besides the crumbs of bread that Bolin threw at them, but Bolin had another reason for coming to the lake: the simple presence of turtleducks was sufficient to make him feel at peace, serene.

Especially since the moment they came back from the Southern Water Tribe.

Bolin was now a mover star. His time was shared between the premieres, the screaming fans and the city escapades with Varrick and his crew. Yet whenever he could grab some free moments, he would come here to this lake. An activity that Pabu too seemed to appreciate, judging by the fact that he gladly played with turtleducks too.

Some of them even had names. Bolin had seen to it. Unfortunately, when he told that to Mako, Mako couldn't understand how it was possible to see a difference between animals of the same species. In that domain, Mako was absolutely clueless. Bolin, on the contrary, could always tell them apart. Not two turtleducks were ever the same. Some had a bigger head, some had a distinctive detail on some part of their body, and some made specific noises... And they all had their own personalities. Yet since the last time that he came here, the number of turtleducks had grown. And he had to name all the newcomers.

He named the slowest duck Speedy. The smallest one in the flock was named The Mountain. The one with one wing smaller than the other was named Master. And the prettiest one... Just when he was about to name her, she quacked and pecked at his foot. Then, she proceeded to run after Pabu and bite his tail. Bolin took her in his hand, but she scratched him. He dropped her in sudden pain and proclaimed:

"You... I shall call you Eska!"

At that moment, the turtleduck jumped back to Bolin and snuggled against his legs.

"Huh...? What sort of turtleduck are you...?" he asked, before lowering himself on his knees, to take a better look at Eska.

The pretty turtleduck then jumped into his hand, then on his shoulder, to finally rest against his neck. Pabu jumped on Bolin too, wanting to show turtleduck Eska who was the real Bolin's pet in this town, but Eska was suddenly acting sweet with Pabu too, so much that they ended up cuddling together around Bolin's neck.

"I've never seen a turtleduck like this one," said Bolin, "It seems that she needed to be aggressive with us before being kind! Have you ever seen a creature of this kind, Pabu?"

Pabu made a Pabu sound, that Bolin translated by "I don't know". Bolin gave him a pat on the head, then took the turtleduck and put it down on the ground. When he turned around to leave, he noticed that turtleduck Eska was following him. Once that she caught him, she started tugging on his leg, wanting to make him come back. He turned around and patted the turtleduck on the head.

"No, no, no, little turtleduck. I need to leave now. You mustn't follow me," he said.

Yet when he turned around, the turtleduck was still there. He sighed, took it in his hand, and brought it back in the water.

"See, Eska," he spoke kindly, "Here are your parents and your brothers and sisters. You need to stay with them. You're used to the water and my place is in the city. I can't stay here with you and you mustn't come after me, okay?"

The turtleduck seemed to understand. Bolin sighed once again, this time in relief, before turning to leave.

"Though... I should come back again!" he thought, hoping that the turtleduck could hear his mind.

As he was walking away from the pond, he found himself thinking about another Eska, a very human one. He felt heaviness in his chest. And against every possible logic, he took Pabu as a shield for his face and choked his cries in the fire-ferret's fur.

A/N: I know that Bolin and Eska were a Book2 story, but they're just so fun to write about that I think I'll continue with these little fics. Hope some of you guys still ship them ;)