CHAPTER 4- A Waterbending Master

I'm sorry it's been so long, to the small number of followers left. I've been really busy with life and my stories have not been updated because I don't really have the passion for them. But I found this one and it's almost Christmas break, so I edited ch. 3 and wrote a couple new chapters. I just started chapter 5 so bear with me.

I don't want to seem like I'm making up names, and I mean no disrespect to the inuit peoples, but I needed some water tribe-sounding names for the new characters in this chapter. So I scanned through some fiction writer's websites and found some inuit unisex names.

Iluak- person who does good (inuit) (Innkeeper)

Anuun- man with a hammer (The blacksmith in the chapter)

Palartok- quiet (unisex name)

Arnaaluk-big woman, spirit of the woman under the sea

Buniq- sweet daughter (probably not a nickname but I like how it sounds, hopefully I'm not being too gratuitous with these names so far)

I found an inn after the ship's captain gave the passenger log to the city's guards, and we'd been admitted to the city.

The inn was a small place, but it would do for now with what little gold I carried on me. I'd have to find work somewhere, and a master to teach me. Luckily the woman who ran the inn was a healer and led me to the healing huts the next day. An elderly woman greeted us and very small children, all girls, filed into the classroom. It was a circular room with a manikin engraved with chi paths laying on an icy table.

The innkeeper Iluak explained my situation to the healing master and she greeted me.

"So young Waterbender, what do you know already about the healing arts?" her wrinkled face broke into a warm smile.

I shook my head, wrinkling my nose, "Uhh… nothing. I was hoping to learn more…you know… fighting techniques." I gestured with my hands.

She laughed, "Oh my, you're in the wrong place my dear. The northern tribe has a rich waterbending heritage and women have always played a part in healing, not fighting."

I was incredulous, "Wait, so you're telling me I came all this way and no one will teach me what I want to know, because I'm a woman?!"

Her face now bore less of a smile, her lips formed a thin line. "Young lady, you will respect the tradition of your sister tribe, or you won't be taught at all. I'm under the impression you've heard nothing of our customs. Iluak will have to explain things to you when you retire to her inn for the night."

She shook her head and huffed, "Now if you don't plan on learning with the beginning class today, kindly leave my teaching hut."

I sighed, "No ma'am, I wish to stay. If I can't learn fighting, healing can still help."

She smiled, "Good, now take a seat."

She began the class by hushing the chattering girls who stared at me and my strange clothes and hair, bustling like little seagulls. They giggled and whispered to themselves as I kneeled uncomfortably by the table that held the manikin.

"Good morning, Master Yugoda," they chimed after she dinged a small bell. At least I knew her name now…

"Good morning pupils, today we'll be learning about the chi paths and how to unblock stagnated flow."

The day drug by like a narwhalrus heaving itself onto the ice, I was elated when the class let out and I was free to explore the city some more. When I returned to Iluak's inn, she led me to my room.

"Yugoda said that you had a rough first day," she started, handing me a new parka and what appeared to be a hot water bottle made from sealskin. Iluak was a small lady, her hair braided up into two separate braids that framed her face and connected behind her ears in a small bun, decorated with bone beads. The hairstyle was popular among the northern women, Yugoda sported the same intricately woven design. Iluak's face had the hint of wrinkles and I guessed she was in her late 50's. She had explained to me that her husband was one of the older guards of the upper ring of the city, and her children had all grown up and left the tribe.

I sighed heavily and threw myself onto the bed, "Yes! I came all this way to find a teacher but I never expected that I'd be stuck in with little kids. I wanted to learn how to defend myself."

Iluak sat down on the bed beside me, patting my head as I buried my face into the furs, "Kyra, the North is very old and backwards in its customs. The days where men went out hunting while the women sat in their huts tending to babies, are long gone. But the old ways and thoughts are still there. Give it some time, with more foreigners entering the city looking for refuge, our ways may change."

She huffed at the state of my hair, and I could feel her carding her fingers through it. "Now child, what are we going to do with this mess?" She giggled when I rose my head off the bed and shook out the tangled mess that was my hair. She had been elated that I was willing to stay at her inn for the time I was staying in the tribe. I think it helped her empty-nester syndrome.

"Sorry, I cut my hair off when I left my home and it's been growing back slowly." I snickered.

"Why would you do such a thing?" She was incredulous as she produced a whalebone comb and started to work out the more tangled portions where my rough braid had been earlier today. My stepmother had never helped me with my hair unless it was for a large event, so it was nice to have someone messing with it so gently.

"I made myself look like a man so I'd be safer during the journey," I explained.

"Did it help?" She asked, being careful not to pull too hard when she reached a particularly rough patch.

"It did for a time, but…" I trailed off, remembering the whole ordeal with Shei. My eyes prickled with tears and the combing stopped.

"What's wrong?" She nudged me into a sitting position.

I shook my head, swiping at my eyes, "Nothing, it's nothing. Just emotions. I don't really want to talk about it."

The older woman nodded solemnly, "No worries dear, when you want to talk about it, I'm here."

"Thank you," I smiled as genuinely as I could. She set down her comb on the low table by the bed, "Now if it's ok, miss Kyra, I need to go lock up the inn for the night, I'll be down the hallway in the Great room if you need anything."

I nodded and closed my door, then dove under the furs. Sleep overtook me quickly and when I awoke it was due to a soft knocking on the door.

I dressed in the warm parka Iluak had given me the night before and went downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. It was modest and the kindly innkeeper had made sure to pack some extra food in a sack for the day.

"There are no classes today, on the seventh day of the week everyone goes out and gets ready for the next week. So the marketplace will be bustling, you should explore some more," she explained.

Winter was fast approaching the North, and I'd learned that it meant harsher winds and snow flurries. Iluak had a list of supplies she wanted me to get on my way through the marketplace. I picked up leather and food, and a few other items from some of the vendors along the main square. But I had to ask where the weapon smith's shop was located, as a couple new knives were on the list for the inn's kitchen.

I had found it after a few wrong turns and ducked into the shop, pushing aside the thick leather flap emblazoned with the water tribe symbol. The inside was dimly lit by the forge in the center of the room. Steel weapons decorated the racks on the side walls, hide shields were hung around the room, and a counter full of smaller weapons lay to the entrances' right. An older man dressed in a thick sealskin tunic and bracers stepped out from the back room.

He had leathery skin to match his craft, years of working by the blazing forge turning him into the material he shaped so often. He squinted at me, "Good day, young lady, what are you looking for?"

I handed him the list Iluak had given me. He skimmed over it and rummaged behind the counter, pulling out two steel cleavers and a few slimmer knives.

"I figured Iluak would come for these herself, but looks like she's got a new charge. How long have you been in the city?" He asked me, sounding more like he was muttering to himself than talking to me.

"Um, a few days now," I supplied, readjusting the strap of the bag I was carrying over my shoulder.

"Hmph, well at least you're water tribe, unlike all these other bothersome newcomers running from that blasted war down south."

I mentally rolled my eyes, if you'd lived isolated from the bloodshed up here in the North, you'd probably forget that the world had been at war for 100 years now. The refugees that didn't head to Ba Sing Se headed up here seeking shelter that wasn't always given. I'd been lucky my heritage gained me access into the city.

I ignored his bigoted comment and nodded as he wrapped the knives in a small cloth. He handed me the bundle and took the money Iluak had given me for the shopping trip.

I bid the old man goodbye and headed back out into the street.

I was hopelessly lost unfortunately. As I had left his shop, I had turned down the wrong road and now the ice houses looked all the same. The sun was still in the sky thankfully, but I only had 4 hours to make it back to the inn with the supplies Iluak had sent me out for. I groaned aloud, this was turning out to be a bad adventure into the labyrinthine city.

I was busy retracing my steps when I bumped into someone and lost my footing on the ice. I ungracefully fell backwards and the bag of supplies slipped out of my grasp and into the icy water of the canal. I looked horrified, even with my waterbending it would be hard to find my bag before the current of the upper canals dragged it away.

I looked up at the person who had so rudely knocked me onto my ass. A young man about my age stood there slack-jawed. He was wearing a parka that looked like it needed a good washing, but his face was clean and his dark hair was pulled back into wolftail.

"Watch it!" I scowled at him, but quickly remembered the sac of supplies I'd been sent out for. I scrabbled to my feet on the ice, "My bag!" the stranger stared at me like I was a sea monster.

I dove into the channel and propelled myself towards where I'd last seen the bag as it sunk into the icy water. The shock of the freezing temperature slowed my strokes, but I had waterbending on my side. There, at the bottom of the icy depths was my bag, slowly being dragged along by the current. I snatched it and shot myself out of the canal with a twist of my bending.

When I landed in an undignified heap on the sidewalk, the young man who'd bumped into me reached my side. "What were you thinking, that water is freezing?!" He said, clearly still shocked from the whole ordeal. I bended the water out of my clothes and hair, then the sac of supplies, which I hoped was not ruined from the swim in the canal.

As I bent the water the stranger went bug-eyed. I huffed, "It's fine, but hopefully the vegetables I bought are ok." He shoved his hands into his pockets, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to bump into you like that…" He avoided my gaze, his blue eyes focusing on the water of the canal.

"Maybe you should pay more attention to where you're going," I snarked at him, still angry and freezing.

"Yeah…" he trailed off, and I caught him staring at my face.

I rolled my eyes and broke his stare, "If you don't mind I'm lost, and I need to get back to Iluak's inn in the middle levels."

He shook his head as if clearing it. "I can take you there! My mom used to be friends with Iluak."

I readjusted the strap as he stood there awkwardly.

"So… shall we then?" I supplied, hoping he'd get moving.

"Yeah, right. Let's go before it gets any darker." He started walking back the way I'd came and I groaned internally; I was going to need a map if I planned on staying here any longer. The city had too many turns and bridges it was hard to keep them all straight. We made it back to the marketplace a lot faster than I had guessed it would take.

I followed the young man who walked with his hands in his pockets, glancing behind to make sure I was still there every so often.

What a charmer.

I sighed to myself, this city had been quite the disappointment so far. I was unable to learn combative waterbending and the only job I was offered was babysitting work, which I despised. I turned it down in favor of working for Iluak washing clothes and dishes and cleaning up after particularly messy guests.

The stranger stopped and turned around, "So umm, Iluak's is straight down this road to the right before the last house. I have to go now." He brushed by me and took off running up the walkway before turning a corner.

I shook my head and followed his directions, familiar with my surroundings now. As I ducked into the inn, Iluak looked relieved and helped me with the bag as I emptied its contents on her front countertop. She checked through the list and counted the gold before handing a few of the pieces to me.

"Here you go, this is your share for helping me today."

I smiled widely, and pocketed the money. She turned her back to me and started putting things away into barrels and cabinets and under the counter.

"So did you have any fun exploring the city today?" She asked as I sat on one of the tall stools at the counter and grabbed some bread for dinner.

I paused mid-bite. "I got hopelessly lost unfortunately."

"Oh really? I'll have to draw out the upper levels for you then, they can get confusing." She finished and brushed off her hands, turning back to me. She scowled at me as I took another bite of the bread that I'd claimed. "Really, Kyra? I made stew, you don't have to eat day-old bread." I smiled with my mouth full, then swallowed before answering, "Hey I like carbs and I've been starving and freezing," I made the saddest puppy-bear eyes I could muster at her.

She shook her head, "What will I do with you? Well if you still was stew it's there."

I went back to the bread as she folded cloths across the room.

"If you got so hopelessly lost, then how did you get back here?" She asked picking up the clean pile and storing it behind the counter where I sat. She leaned on the countertop much like a bartender from one of those seedy places in the earth kingdom when he'd heard a particularly juicy tale. Startling Iluak, I slammed the bread I was holding down onto a plate, angry at the thought of the rude stranger.

"This guy ran into me up in the upper city and the sac of supplies got knocked into the canal! He didn't even help me retrieve it, I had to dive into the water and fish it out before it got swept away! Can you believe it? Then the guy offers to take me back here but leaves me halfway up the road before vanishing without so much as a goodbye." I gestured wildly with my hands, which I had the tendency to do when something particularly irked me.

Iluak listened thoughtfully, waiting until my rant ended. "What did this guy look like?"

"He had dark hair and blue eyes like almost everyone has here… but his coat was kind of dirty, but not him. He was clean. He was kind of quiet and awkward, like he was surprised he'd bumped into me and not a wall. He said his mother was friends with you," I explained, thinking back to how jumpy he'd seemed and how he'd stared at me after I'd bent the water out of my clothes.

"Hmmm, sounds like Palartok. He's the smith, Anuun's apprentice, which is why his clothes are dirty of course. Poor boy's mother is Arnaaluk, a fearful large woman with an even larger temper. I'm afraid he wasn't being rude Kyra, he's quiet because of her." She sighed heavily, "Arnaaluk was my friend when we were younger, but she married a quiet man who loved her and after Anuun was born, his father left the tribe to fight in the war and hasn't come back since then. We fear the worst. Arnaaluk has taken her heartache out on her only son."

I pictured Palartok growing up working in the smith's shop, trying to escape his mother's fury without a father like mine to buffer the storms, and I felt a little bit bad for him.

"That doesn't excuse his rudeness though!" I piped.

Iluak swatted me lightly with the cloth she was holding, "Oh hush, Buniq, he was probably flustered he'd knocked over such a pretty girl."

I blushed angrily and stalked off to bed, taking the bread I'd been eating with me.

The next day it was back to the healing huts for me, and the day after and the day after that. Until I had completed the beginner level of classes with Yugoda. A week later she stopped by the inn and left a message. I was moving up to the higher level classes with much older students my age, which meant I'd get most of the day to myself and then around lunch time I'd go to class with one of Yugoda's teaching assistants. I was elated I would finally get more time to explore besides one day a week. The beginners classes had been like daycare, with gossipy little girls half my age splashing water on each other when Yugoda wasn't looking. I had looked forward to the seventh day of the week where I could learn more about the city and find more places to practice my waterbending.

Today was one such day, the sky bright and the people out and about, preparing for another week. I had found a circular section of the canal that had opened up in a back alleyway. Much like a courtyard down south in some of the richer cities. It was quiet and few people sat around the benches surrounding the circular pool. Young couples sat huddled up in warm fur parkas and caps, snuggling affectionately.

I ignored them and fished a scroll out of my personal bag. I hadn't had time to practice lately and I'm sure my forms, which had been fairly clean when I'd fought the Fire Nation soldiers down south, were horrendous now.

I hadn't thought about Shei since that night Iluak had asked me about my hair. My hair was much longer now and I kept it in a loose braid most days. It was nice to not have a reminder about my journey here, especially one that reminded me of that earthbending bastard.

I moved through a couple forms, remembering the feel of them and guiding the water through the air.

I was rudely interrupted by an older, gruff voice.

"You're stance is terrible, plant your feet flat and spread your legs. Then maybe the water won't be so shaky."

I turned to look at the owner of the voice, guiding the water back into the pool. An older man with long white hair and a mustache to match stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall of one of the buildings that surrounded the courtyard. He had a scowl on his face and the frown lines to match. He appraised me with haughty eyes and something inside me prickled.

"What was that, again?" I asked, hoping this grouchy old man wasn't someone too important to the tribe.

He pushed off the wall and stood straight, arms still crossed. "I said your stance if off, if you'd practice more healing arts like women should instead of trying things you don't understand, then maybe I wouldn't be correcting you," he sneered, his mustache framing his thin, colorless lips. He had dark blue piercing eyes and I deduced he was a teacher, no one else would have the gall to correct a Waterbender.

"Maybe if I had someone to teach me something more useful, then I wouldn't have to learn from old scrolls," I snapped back.

"I wouldn't speak that way again girl, if you know what's good for you," he hissed, moving closer and glaring down at me. "I'm the Waterbending master here, any man who wants to learn from me has to prove his worth. No woman would ever dream of challenging me."

"Well excuse me, sir. I didn't know that men were born with such big egos to make up for their other… deficiencies," I snarked making a pointed glance in a certain…direction. I knew deep down that I was going to be in hot water if Iluak heard me talking to an elder this way, but this crotchety old coot was on my last nerve and we'd only just met.

He snorted, "I don't have time for a vulgar girl like you, I was offering you free waterbending advice, but it's obvious you don't deserve it." He turned sharply and walked out of the courtyard.

A young couple walked up to me and the woman looked at me like I'd committed a crime, "Young lady, do you know who that was?"

"No, he was a jerk, told me girls shouldn't learn waterbending," I huffed, grabbing my things.

"That was Master Pakku," she explained, "Chief Arnook's head advisor and the tribe's waterbending master."

Well shit.