*Bee*
The tanks advanced.
I looked down. My shirt was soaked through.
Blood. So much blood.
I looked around for a swampbender. I finally spotted a group of them. I limped in their direction as fast as I could. The faster I was healed, the faster I could fight.
They took out a couple more soldiers.
And started to move on.
Crap.
"Wait!" I yelled.
One turned around. A girl a couple years older than me. I limped over.
"Please tell me you're a healer," I begged.
She nodded and looked at the wound. "One second," she said, before running back to one of the trucks. She didn't have a swamp accent.
She ran back over, with water gloves. "Sit down," she said.
I sat.
She put her hands on the wound. The pain started fading. Slowly.
"What's your name?" she asked, obviously trying to get my mind off the battle.
"Smellerbee. Yours?"
"Abi."
"Weird name for a swampbender."
"I'm half Water Tribe, half Earth Kingdom. The only place my parents could agree on was the swamp."
"They here?" I asked.
"No. Neither of them are benders. I learned from them." She nodded towards a couple of swampbenders a few yards away. "They're not healers, though. I taught myself how to heal."
"You friends with that seaweed monster over there?" I pointed.
She chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. You wanna know how it works?"
I shrugged. "Sure."
"There's a swampbender inside, bending the water in the plants. That way he can control them. Back home he uses vines. His name's Huu. He actually helped raise me."
"I was raised by two boys two years older than me."
"That would explain the name. Smellerbee's not the most common name for a girl."
I laughed. "Yeah, it would. You knew I was a girl?"
"You have a ponytail."
"Oh. Right."
The pain was almost gone. I'd be ready to fight in a minute.
"Are your 'guardians' here?" Abi asked.
"One of them."
"What about the other?"
And I'd just gotten my mind off of that. "No, he, uh… He's dead."
Her eyes widened. "What happened?"
"You know the Dai Li? In Ba Sing Se?"
"The guys who betrayed the Earth King and then sided with Princess Azula?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Their old leader killed him."
"I'm so sorry."
I shook my head. "Don't be. I just try not to think about it."
She lifted her hands. "You're healed."
I stood up. "Thanks." I thought a moment. "Mind if I stick with you? I can't find any of the three people I know."
She stood up and smiled. "Go right ahead. I could use the backup."