Avatar the Last Air Bender: Alterations
Torn
Aang and Ty Lee had now drug the pieces of the glider-thing to where Aang had found the large piece of wood. He had earth bent it, but for when he was tired of doing that, (his foot did take somewhat of a tole on his concentration), Ty Lee would help him do it manually.
It wasn't as cold as it had been, in fact the sun began to burn off a little of the cloud, they could even see it peeking from behind the grey shadows.
Ty had positioned the wood against to other rocks Aang had earth bent to be like a table, he was now concentrating on how he would make his glider-thing. "I got it…" Aang said, Ty Lee sat up from the rock she was lying on.
"Got what?"
Aang took off his shirt and laid it down on the piece of tree, he measured out the length to have a visible marker.
"Okay…" Aang said, "Stand back….." Ty Lee hopped up on her rock, on one hand. He smirked at her, "Stop showing off!" he said smiling, "I can't make a mistake…"
She relaxed and returned to her cross legged position higher on the rock. He breathed then pulled his hands back violently, immediately a shaft of grey rock spat out of the ground underneath the tree, taking part of the tree with it. The sides of the rock table held the tree in place.
The result was it had been carved into a more slim shape at the sides. He did it again, carving more, he focused narrowing his eyes.
Ty Lee watched him work, he wasn't…normally buff or toned like say Zuko, or the March chi ball players were back home, or Tin Sio the strong man of her circus…although he was funny like him….and bald…minus the mustache…
At any rate she had to confess….he was well toned enough...in a cute way, he had that….skinny muscle, like her friend shu, he was the tight rope walker, not buff like Tin Sio, but still could lift what you wouldn't expect him to.
He jerked his hands up again and another chunk flew, she leaned her head on her hands, he jerked his hands again and a piece flew but not what he wanted.
He propped up the log upwards so one of its branches was facing upwards, he held it steady. In his other hand he made a fist and flexed…his muscled showed a bit more noticeably when he did. Ty bit her lip…with a yell he jerked his hand forwards in a spear-hand strike, "K-YAH!" he cried.
-SPLINTER- went the wood, cleanly chopped and devoid of its branch. Ty Lee raised an eye brow, biting both sides of her lip…Aang backed up, and placed the log back on its side, well now it resembled more of a plank.
"Hey wanna give me a hand with the wing?" He said turning back to her, she snapped her eyes back up to his, "HUH?" she said.
"The wing…wanna give me help?" Aang said, apparently not knowing she'd been…observing him just now.
"UH…" she said, she snapped out of her brain stall,
"YEP!"
She cart wheeled off of the rock to where he was in seconds. He blinked from the speed it took to get from where she'd been to where she was now standing. She put her hands on her hips again smiling like she did in the circus.
He grinned at her a little weirdly then shook his head and went over to the side of the wing opposite her on the ground.
"Whenever you do that…" he said waiting for her to take the other end, "You do that pose thing…"
She took her side up hurriedly, she knew what he was talking about but didn't show she did.
"Watcha mean?" she asked innocently. They both lifted the wing up,
"I mean…." He said, "That thing you do with your hands on your hips smiling…" he said. "Seems rehearsed…"
"Oh…" she said not expecting that comment.
Aang quickly recovered himself,
"Meaning…" he added, "It looks like you've done that sort of thing before…" they both lifted the wing to be perpendicular with the wood, making a cross eventually.
She smiled again, "Mhmm." She replied, wanting him to ask more. "Well?..." he asked after a pause, squinting his eyes down the side of the wing to make sure it was level.
"Jumpy flippy stuff, our whole family did…" she said letting her end down, "Hey hold yours up!" Aang said quickly. She quickly put her end up higher.
"Your whole family?" Aang said, "Were they like the Kehoshi warriors..?" he asked. Ty Lee bit her lip at their mention.
He hadn't noticed though, he was still looking at the wings' angle to the wood.
"Kind of…." She said slowly. "Cool!" Aang said smiling and looking up this time,
"Really?" Ty asked excitedly, "Yeah…" Aang said, "I never had any brothers and sisters…" he said, Ty Lee bit her lip again and hurriedly looked at the wing to, pretending to look at its angle or something.
Aang looked at it again himself apparently not minding or noticing. "What about your parents?" she asked, moving her hair out of the way of her face.
"Well I didn't…" Aang said, "Really…" she looked at him, "Know them….exactly….."
"OH!" Ty Lee said, "Sorry…."
Aang grinned to himself without looking up from this work, gliding his hands along the table, making it sand the wood gently as he did.
"Don't be…" he said frankly, "I had a family…" he smiled.
"Who?" Ty Lee said,
"The other air benders…." Aang said, then realized where the conversation could go if they went on.
"So uh…" he said standing up from the table, "Ty Lee?" she looked at him, "Yup?"
"Uhh…why'd you join the Fire Nation?" he asked, she looked at him oddly, "I AM Fire Nation…" she said.
"I know that…" Aang said rubbing the back of his head, backing up against the canyon wall. "What I meant was, you seem….nice…."
She still looked at him oddly.
"By that I mean…" he said, "That…you don't seem like the other…"
She waited,
"Members in your group bent on capturing me….." he went on, Ty nodded, understanding.
Aang waited for her to say more and she didn't.
"I meant that as a complement to you…" he said taking his hand off his neck.
Ty Lee grinned a bit, "I know…" She said not raising her voice about just hearable…
Aang felt like he shouldn't press the matter but he did, "You okay?..." he asked, leaning on the wing.
She smiled up at him, "Yeah…" she clapped her hands, "Come on…lets finish your glidey-thing."
He grinned too, though he was still concerned, "Oh it's not just mine…" he corrected. He walked around to her side, she watched him.
"It's yours too" he said took up the taking off his belt and measuring it. She looked at him even funnier,
"What….are you doing?" she asked backing a bit.
"Just hold still a second…" he said squatting down next to her, "I have to measure you…"
"OH…." She said relaxing a bit, her fists unclenched. He put the belt to her feet, and measured from there to her side, to her shoulder finally.
He compared her size to that of the wood, then smiled, "Perfect!" he said excitedly, "Your even smaller then I'd hoped.
She looked at him questioningly,
"I mean…" he said, "you probably weigh less than I thought you did…that's perfect…"
"Why?" she said, not sure how to take that,
"Because, the glider will be carrying two people." Aang said.
He bent the rock again, using it to sharpen the edges, and sand down the pointy parts.
"There…" he said "…..done."
"What is?" she asked, he grinned at her and extended his hand. She looked at it then went to grab it.
He took it back, "No magic punches?" he said. She smirked at him and said,
"You'll have to see Avatar…"
"Fair enough…" he said extending it again, she took it, and he helped her onto the wooden plan on the table and position her on it…
She looked up at the cloudy sky, but could see a hint of Red in the sky peeking from behind the clouds.
"Pretty…" she said.
"Yeah…" Aang said looking at her for a second, then looked at the sky where she was looking,
"OH um yeah…pretty sky….suns setting."
Ty Lee looked up at him grinning again, her eyes were wide open an perky, and glittering it looked like…and well to be honest, jaw droppingly…radiant.
"Um!" Aang said to avert the moment he'd just had,
"Here is the rod…" he placed the other stick he had over her for her to grab, "You'll be holding, and then I'll hold another one attached to it…so we'll both be able to fly out of here…" He said grinning.
"Thanks again…" she said
"Hey I told you didn't I?" Aang said, "I couldn't let you get rammed by a- " she cut him off sitting up.
"No no…" she said, "I meant…"
She bit her lip.
"Thank you…for including me…"
He looked at her oddly this time.
"The glider…thing…" she said. "Making it for two…you didn't have to…with me having to capture you and all…"
Aangs smile faded as soon as it had come at hearing the thanks, "Why?" he asked. She looked up at him with a look of asking he not ask again.
"Why…" he went on, "Do you HAVE…to capture me…" he said. She looked away a little, he sighed.
"Because…." She said quietly, "Your…bad….." she said as if she were reminding herself.
"I think you know better than that Ty Lee…" he said seriously.
She still wouldn't look at him, "Would you at least look at me…" he asked.
She sat up, "I don't have to do anything you say!" she said suddenly upset.
Aang backed up a step, she made an effort to get off the table, but the glider almost tipped, he caught it just in time and she helped.
"I'm not demanding anything…" Aang said frustrated, "I'm just asking!"
"Well don't ask!" Ty Lee stormed.
"I should have known…" Aang said narrowing his eyes and putting his belt back on.
"Yeah…WHAT Avatar?" she said folding her arms, glaring.
"That you could be any different…" he said crossly. She froze a little but he kept going
"Look, I get it!" Aang said angrily, "I'm the enemy! That you've made painfully clear, your books, your stubbornness, your machines, your INVASIONS... in spite of the fact I haven't done a THING to any of you!"
Ty Lee just glared at Aang but he saw something else, "What are you afraid of Ty…WHY are you afraid what you know may be wrong?" he asked.
"NOTHING!" she said, "The Fire Nation isn't scared of ANYTHING!"
"Except for me…" Aang said propping the glider back on to the table to be balanced right.
Ty Lee glared at him, "We aren't afraid of you…and…and neither am I!" she said upset.
"You're just in the way…like at Sozen's Seige." she said glaring. This made Aang boil.
"In the way?..." he said glaring back, she had to admit she wasn't used to seeing him actually mad.
"IN THE WAY!" he belted, and it echoed; Ty Lee jumped.
"THAT'S WHY YOUR NATION WENT OUT OF THE WAY TO KILL US ALL? WE WERE NEVER IN YOUR WAY, YOU PUT US IN YOUR WAY! WE NEVER ASKED FOR THIS, I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS! I NEVER EVEN WANTED TO BE AVATAR! I'M JUST TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE, IS THAT SO BAD!"
She just looked wide eyed at his exclamation, pretending like her lip wasn't shaking.
"IS IT SO BAD THAT YOU HAD TO- "
He couldn't finish.
"But….but we had to hunt you…" She said again with a tone of trying to convince herself more than him.
"You were going to ruin everything! Change everything! Flying in on your Bison thing and just…" Ty Lee said trying to match his level of being mad, but was more shaken then anything.
"YEAH WHAT?" Aang said still angry, angrier still now that she'd brought up his still missing Appa.
"WORLD DOMINATION? PAIN? SUFFERING OF PEOPLE? YOU WANT THAT TO HAPPEN! HOW CAN YOU LIVE WITH YOURSELF?"
Ty Lee's fists were clenched again.
"I'M NOT LIKE THAT!" She said… "OKAY, I'M NOT- " She fumbled for what she was trying to convey.
"I tried you know?..." Aang said saddly as well as angry, "I tried to make up for abandoning the world…I tried to believe you could be different from the other bullies in the Fire Nation, but you know what? You aren't….and you never will be…you're all just the same! You'll never be your own person!"
Suddenly he saw Ty Lee crying a little, "I KNOW!" she shrieked at him, and ran.
Aangs anger lifted off of him like the Storm the night before; what had he done? She'd pushed his buttons alright, but he should've known better then to blow up at her like that.
"Wait!" He said. But she was gone, and it was getting slowly darker."TY LEE!" he said louder, echoing through the canyon, but no reply came. None but the familiar rumble of Thunder…
