"Can we get a real answer?" Jinora shifted her weight from foot to foot.
"Are you trying to string me along like you are doing with her?" Asami had her hands on her hips.
"No im not stringing anyone along its just that," I stuttered out as I broke out in a cold sweat. "I uh-"
"Attention everyone we have arrived, be on deck and ready in 5." Varricks voice boomed over the speakers.
I Saw my chance and hurried out the door knocking Hinako down as I opened it. I shot him an anrgy glance and continued on to the deck. Everyone emerged from the ship and I eased my way over so I was standing right next to Zhu Li.
"Im going to scout around for a bit." I whispered in her ear and slunk off of the ship.
I had been walking for a couple minutes when Hinako and Bolin came running up from behind me.
"Hey we found someone from the village we're all headed that way now so hurry up." Hinako punched my shoulder and Bolin shoved my other one and they both ran off laughing in the dirrection they had come from.
I sighed. 'If I go back that means having to deal with them, but if I dont get back I dont think Varrick would pay me.' I sat down on a tree root and thought.
I heard movement to my left and earth-bend walls around it. I slid it over to me and opened up a peep hole to look inside. I found a small jet black pygmy puma hissing and backing as far away from the peep hole as it could. I noticed that it would not put any pressure on its front right paw.
I bent a glove out of dirt and reached in to grab it. It bit and clawed at the glove though it could not hurt me through it. I lifted the paw into view and saw a boar-q-pine spine stuck into it. I GRabbed the spike and gently pulled it out, causing the pygmy puma to calm down and pull its paw back and began nursing it.
I smiled and put it down before bending the rock back and letting the dirt glove fall back to the ground.
"Oh right I gotta go little guy. I got work to do." I tripped as I started off and landed on my face. "Oh why me?" I screamed out. The puma walked over and rubbed itself on my shoulder before meowing at me.
"Do you wanna come with me or what?" It seemed to perk up and started to jump around still favoring the left paw. "Well lets go." I stood and picked it up.
"Are you a boy or a girl?" I said to it as I ran careful of my surroundings this time. I looked at its stomach and saw that it was a girl. "Fantastic, how about I call you Shade huh little one?" I smirked. 'Probably doesnt understand what im saying right now.'
The boat came into view and Hinako was there waiting for me. "Finally now come on the village is this way." Either he didnt see Shade or he didnt question it and he ran into the forest. I followed him until we came into a clearing that the village was in.
In the middle of the village was the skeleton of an extremely large creature. Varrick, Hinako and the others were crowded around the skull. I tucked Shade into my shirt and ran over to see what they were looking at.
"A BLACK sword?" VArrick sounded very confused and the look spread throughout the group.
"That weapon protected us during Sozins comet over 80 years ago." An elderly man walked up from behind us.
"Well who defeated the creature?" Bolin asked leaning towards the man.
"My name is Yu-Wei and I remember the day very well." The old man sat down and we followed suit.
(The sun rose just like everyother day. I was ten years old at the time and I went out to protect the women while they searched for food while the men were out hunting. After a while the sky started turning red so we headedback to the village. As soon as we go back we were attacked by an extremely large armadillo bear, the strange thing about it was that it could women and younger childdren fled and I was about to, but I remembered that I had to protect the village while the other men were out hunting. I ran up to it dodging the fire as it came and hit it on its snout with my club. It backed up a few feet and roared, as it was about to charge the sword fell from the sky piercing its skull and killing it.)
"I was hailed as a hero even though I was not the one to kill it. They kept saying that because I attacked it that the sword was able to kill it." He sighed. "To this day I still think that it was just right time, right place."
"So your village began to worship the sword after that?" Hinako asked while reaching out to the sword only to have his hand slapped away by Rina. He pouted. "Come on Kat I just want to touch it."
"No but they did believe that I was blessed by the gods and that upon seeing my courage decided to smite the beast." Yu-Wei smiled. "Whatever reason I am glad the the village was saved."
Jinora screamed. "This is it!" Everyone jumped up and ran back over to her, she had been examining the sword the whole time.
"What whats it?" I asked as I was the first one there.
"Great Uncle Sokkas Meteore Sword? This is the sword he lost battling the airships when Grandpa Aang fought with Ozai?" Rina pushed me out of the way and stood next to her cousin.
"Yeah it is. See look thats the symbol of the White Lotus on the end." Jinora touched the sword and it shook.
"Is it Ok if I take the sword? It belongs to my family." Rina looked like she was about to cry.
"Yu-Wei? Is it alright?" I asked him.
"I have both thanked and cursed that sword in my lifetime. However, I am the village elder and the tale of the sword should fade as I will. Please take it and when you visit you Great Uncle thank him for me." Yu-Wei turned to walk away.
"Im sorry sir but he died when I was still just a little girl." Jinora had tears fallinf from her face.
Yu-Wei stopped. "I see, so I can thank him myself very soon." And he continued on.
"Lets get a shot of Bolin removing the sword." Varrick clasped his shoulders.
"Uh since its Jinora and Rinas family they should do it." He tried to push Varrick away.
"No its Ok Uncle Bolin you can do it after all I think maybe Great Uncle Sokka would want the same." Rina smiled and wiped away her tears and Jinora nodded.
Varrick clapped and grabbed the camera and set it up infront of the skull. "Zhu Li I want you to find the best light and catch his good side."
Zhu Li nodded and manned the camera while Bolin walked up to the skull. He removed his shirt and grasped the handle with one hand, He posed heroicly and pulled at the sword. It didnt budge though so he grabbed it with both hands and pulled with all his might but it would not move.
It had been 20 minutes and everyone tried pulling the sword but no one could.
"Oh Bolin use your bending!" Varrick shouted after Zhu Li had whispered in his ear.
Bolin took his stance and attempted to lift it but it ztill wouldnt budge.
"Sai-Ryu why dont you give it a shot?" Bolin said as he sat back on the ground.
"I havent been able to metal-bend almost anything though. What if I cant control it and something happens?" I was hesitant to try because the last thing I did to a piece of metal shattered it.
"Then we will take all the teeny tiny pieces back with us and hopefully some one can reforge it." Hinako said with a chuckle. I looked to Jinora and Rina who looked at eachother and nodded.
"Ok here I go then." I took my stance and remembered everything that Toph had taught me. Slowly the sword began to shake and rise until it floated to me. As soon as my hand touched the handle the metal of the blade melted and wrapped itself around my right arm. The pain dropped me to my knees and Shade jumped out of my shirt and began pacing back and forth.
Nobody could move they were all in shock because of what was happening. Zhu Li had kept the camera rolling out of habit as she peered from behind it to look at me. After the shock wore off Hinako pulled the water from some nearby trees, splintering them instantly, and used it to try to cool off the metal. Rina ran up and tried to use some of the water to heal my arm underneath the metal.
Eventually the water evaporated and the metal cooled forming a pattern that resembled two snaked wrapped around a single tree branch. I pulled my arm to my side and as I bent my elbow the metal flexed with it. Every time I moved my elbow or wrist the metal bent along with it with no resistance and always went back to where it was.
My right arm felt heavier than it was and yet I could move it just as easily as I could before.
"Teeny tiny little pieces right Hinako?" I said looking into the sky as Shade jumped into my chest. I clenched the tiny cub with my left hand and raised my right to the sky.
"This is it. The strange metal I saw in my reflection." I closed my eyes as my vision failed me.
A/N: I wanted Sai-Ryu to have a pet and I thought the pygmy puma was perfect. Should I give Hinako a pet aswell? That is the question. Let me know and give me your suggestion.
