I was about to fall into bed exhausted when suddenly I remembered Katara. She was probably waiting for me still! Airbending comes in real handy when you're in a hurry! I was by the pond so fast that a gust of wind bent the plants down behind me as I ran. Katara was dangling her feet in the water when I got to her, gazing at the nearly full moon.
"I'm so sorry. I had gotten jumped in the alley—"
"What?!" She was on her feet so fast that even my Airbending seemed slow!
"I'm fine! Just some brainless thugs trying to act tough. I think they were going to rob the palace or something, but I took care of them. One of them said something about kidnapping the prince as ransom, but once I roughed them up I told them if they ever laid hands on the Fire Lord that they'd have to answer to me."
Everything I said was a complete lie, but I didn't want her to be worried about my safety when I could handle myself. Telling by her less rigid posture, I could tell my lie worked. Her next words cemented my assumption.
"Thank you. He might be a little less than hospitable—" I rolled my eyes "—but he has a good heart. He's been through a lot, and he doesn't really know how to let anyone in."
"Not to mention his girlfriend broke up with him this morning."
We both started and turned to look at Aang, Katara shocked and I confused. Why hadn't I heard him coming? I'm usually more vigilant than this. Must be the recent alley fight distracting me.
"Why?" Katara asked.
"I don't know. Apparently she met this nomad Firebender and decided he could give her more than Zuko's money could," Aang replied with a shrug. "So what'd I miss?"
He sat cross-legged and stared up at us with wide, childish eyes. I had to smile, but it faded quickly when I told him. "I'm teaching Katara to Bloodbend without the full moon."
The child innocence left to be replaced with fear.
"Why?" he exclaimed jumping up again. Why did he sit down to begin with anyway?
"Because that's how I saved many lives in the past, including my own on a few occasions. It's a useful skill to have when you're a Waterbender," I replied, keeping my voice gentle.
I could understand why Bloodbending scared him so much. Hama was a frightening and crazy old woman and no doubt tried to kill whoever was with Katara to get her to Bloodbend. But I am not Hama, and I was trying to teach her how to save lives, not control people. Besides, she came to me, not the other way around.
"I promise that I will protect her while she's learning, and I won't teach her anything that could hurt people," I continued, trying to gain his trust.
At first I thought he would forbid it, but after a while he said, though hesitantly, "If it was anyone but you, then I wouldn't listen, but since you're an Air Nomad, you were raised on the same peaceful principles as me, so I know you won't teach her anything bad. And I know you won't force her to learn either."
I sighed in relief.
"But I still want to watch, if that's ok."
"Of course! Maybe you can learn a thing or two yourself."
The first thing I had Katara do was sit in the pond and meditate, asking her a few questions now and then to get feedback on what she was feeling. That way I could gauge how well she was connected with her element, as well as her progress as the time went on.
"Gently bend the water around you, slow and flowing. Feel it press against your skin and release. Feel it slip around your arms as you move," I instructed.
She seemed to be in a trance as she bended the water around her.
"What are your impressions?"
"Flowing. Change that's smooth, but not completely controlled. Life."
"Very good."
I looked up, checking the moon's position. It was beginning to set by now, its light beginning to throw longer shadows over the garden. Just a little longer and then I'll end the session. There were still about four days until the full moon, so I had time before I would begin to teach her the healing method. Then after the full moon I'd try to teach her how to Bloodbend without its power.
I looked back at Katara to make sure she was still bending and gasped. She had a slight glow to her, almost as if I was healing her again, but she was completely fine, smiling softly as she continued to bend the water. It was amazing how fast she was bonding with her element! She'll be a really fast learner as long as we could get over that fear she has of Bloodbending. That's the only major block she has now as far as I could see.
I never really liked Mai and Zuko together. It just didn't work for me, so sorry for those of you who did. (Besides, I needed another reason for him to be irritable, and being dumped is usually a pretty good reason.)Anywhoo, here's a look at Katara's lessons. There will definitely be more of these to come later on. So until the next chapter, I hope you enjoy!
