hey! inudigifan201 here! and welcome to Amon's Secret Apprentice (mature version). this version is not for the faint of heart or the weak of stomachs. if you can't handle this, but wanna keep reading, then please read the original and save yourself from the gore. it won't hurt my feelings at all. at any rate... here it is, Enjoy... if you can...
about this chapter: ... sorry for the long wait. let's see... Konna X Bolin... Boanna! that's what I'm calling this ship. I want to develop their relationship over time and not rush it. also, more backstory! Yay! sorry this took me so long, homework and writer's block is not the greatest of combos.
For updates on my life and why it takes so long to write these chapters: check out my twitter inudigifan201 ... i know, same name; that's the point. (i really need to tweet more...)
PS. I loosely based Kassidy off of Harley Quinn from Batman... long story. and Azula... can't get any crazier than these two.
and Konna loosely off of Flutter-Shy and Princess Luna from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. and yes, I watch MLP:FIM. And you gotta deal with it! and a little off of Rose/Hunts-girl from American Dragon: Jake Long. and Zuko... and she also kinda resembles Queen Elsa from Frozen. funny thing, I finished the original before seeing that movie.
Ch, 14. Flirting with disaster
Konna's eyes flung open as she gasped and fell out of her bed. She rubbed her head and stood up. She heard Oogi outside come in for a landing. She smiled and quickly got dressed. She then rushed down the stairs in the dorm and made her way to the stables.
Tenzin dismounted his flying bison as Konna caught her breath. He looked over at her and smiled. "Good morning Konna."
"Did you get the answers you were looking for?" she got to her point.
He nodded. "I'll explain over breakfast."
She crossed her arms. "Fine."
He smiled, walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "I promise, everything will become clear."
She sighed. "Ok."
"Come on, let's eat." He lightly pushed her toward the main house.
Pema and the kids were already at the table.
Korra groggily walked in. "When does Tenzin get back?"
He walked in behind her. "Right now."
"Dang it!" She spoke under her breath.
"Daddy!" The kids got up and ran to hug him.
Konna poked her head in through the doorframe. She quietly made her way to the table and sat down.
Korra looked over at her. "Good morning. Were you the one that fell out of bed this morning?"
Konna nodded.
"Are you ok?" Korra gasped.
Konna nodded again and hid a little in her hair.
"Bad dream?" Korra asked in concern.
Konna nodded once more.
Korra pouted. "Is there anything I can do?"
This time, Konna shook her head.
Tenzin placed his hand on Konna's shoulder. "How about we all sit down and eat some breakfast."
The girls sat down and Tenzin sat next to Pema. He looked over at Konna. "Did you have fun learning your new elements?"
She nodded. "Jinora is very helpful, Mako is a tad grumpy, and Bolin is…" She blushed a little. "Good."
He nodded. "Good."
Korra stuffed food into her face. "So, where did you go?"
"I have family in the mountains." He explained. He looked back at Konna. "And I confirmed my suspicions there."
Konna lowered her chopsticks. "About me?"
He nodded.
"Hey Tenzin! When did you get back?" Bolin smiled as he walked in and sat down with Mako behind him.
He looked over at the young earth-bender. "A few moments ago…" he paused. "And I was about to explain something to Konna before you two walked in."
"Sorry." Bolin gave him a nervous smile.
Tenzin looked back at Konna. "You, my dear, are the best kept secret in all of history."
She became confused. "Um… ok. What does that mean?"
He smiled and nodded. "For every Avatar; there has been another person that can bend the four elements. However, this person's job is not to be the bridge between humans and spirits, nor bring peace. Their job is to keep balance."
Konna tilted her head a bit. "And what does that mean?"
Jinora smiled. "It pretty much means all the powers of the Avatar, but none of the responsibility. I've been reading Grandpa Aang's journal he kept after the war. He wrote about being reunited with his twin sister whom was, ironically, imprisoned in ice a day before he was frozen. She was imprisoned because she tried to kill Grandpa Aang because she wanted to be the Avatar." She explained.
Konna lifted an eyebrow and then looked over at Korra. "Trust me, I have no desire to be the Avatar."
Korra gave her a soft smile. "I believe you."
Bolin lowered his chopsticks. "Aang had a twin sister?!"
Tenzin nodded. "My aunt wanted nothing more, in her adult years, than to be left alone and have history forget about her."
Mako lifted an eyebrow. "Why?"
"She was ashamed of her actions in her youth. She didn't even want to be reunited with my father." Tenzin explained.
"But daddy." Jinora tilted her head. "Grandpa Aang sounded happy to see his sister again… even after she tried to kill him."
Tenzin sighed. "He forgave her, but she never forgave herself. So, she married a fire-bender and settled down in the mountains. They had three children, the youngest an air-bender." he looked over at Konna. "In time, my cousin would like to be your air-bending teacher. She has a new baby to take care of right now, but as soon as you feel ready…"
"I'll have to leave? Won't I?" Konna hid behind her hair.
Tenzin pouted, but then smiled. "Actually, Tila agreed to come here. We already discussed this and we both agreed that you staying here would be the best option."
Konna sighed. "Not that I'm ungrateful, but it sounds like my life is being decided for me… again." She looked down at her food. "Why can't you be my teacher?" She glanced back up at him.
He gave her a sympathetic look. "What you are is capable of much more than the Avatar." He sighed. "And quite frankly, Tila is a better air-bender than me."
She set her chopsticks down on the table and stood up. "And what am I exactly?"
"The Antitar." He explained. "Otherwise known as the commander of spirits."
She crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow. "Commander of spirits?"
Korra seemed confused as well. "What does that mean?"
Tenzin looked back at Konna. "You'll both learn in all good time."
Konna sat back down and placed her hand on her chin. A board look overcame her face. "Do I really have to master the elements?" She asked off-handedly.
Tenzin rolled his eyes. "It's your destiny."
She rolled her eyes too. "Can't I just get the basics down and be done with it?"
He sighed. "That's just not how it works."
"Why?" She sounded irritated.
Pema cleared her throat. Tenzin looked at her confused as she glared at him a bit. He shrugged and rolled his eyes to end their silent conversation. Pema put on a sweet smile and looked back over at Konna.
"We're not forcing you to do anything. If you just want to learn the basics, that's fine. But, it would better if you would learn the higher level stuff. And we won't reprimand you if you don't want to." She gave her a smile that only a mother could give.
Konna seemed to ease up a bit.
Pema gave her a hug. "If that's what you're worried about."
"Thank you." A small tear came from Konna's eye as she smiled.
A ten-year-old Konna wrapped gauze over her stomach as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Kassidy leaned on the wall a few feet away.
"You wouldn't have been burned if you did what he told you to do." She rolled her eyes.
"Shut up!" Konna snapped at her. Her eyes watered. "What he told me to do is wrong."
Kassidy rolled her eyes again. "That fire-bender deserved it."
Konna's eyes narrowed as she shed a silent tear. "That old man didn't deserve anything!"
Kassidy rolled her eyes once more as she stood up straight. "There you go. That's your one weakness." She slithered over to Konna and knelt down to get at the eye level of the sitting 10-year-old. "You're too compassionate for those who don't need it." She licked her lips. "Remember, fire-benders are the reason air-benders are an extremely endangered race." She chuckled a bit. "It's all their fault."
"Not everyone's the same." Konna mumbled under her breath.
Kassidy grabbed Konna's chin and jerked her face up. "What was that?!"
Konna looked at the ground to avoid Kassidy's eyes.
"What did you say?!" Kassidy yelled again.
"Nothing." Konna squeaked.
Kassidy let go. "That's what I thought." She then walked out the room.
Konna dusted herself off after she stood back up. She then stammered to the door. She gazed out. No one was around except Kassidy walking away.
Konna dodged back into the room. She leaned on the wall and slid down to sit on the floor to cry.
The sun shown high in the sky, beating down on the city. Konna found a shaded and deserted piece of beach on the island hidden by the cliff above. The only way anyone would find her was if they were jogging around the island. She was alone with her thoughts. She was bending a small water whip just to keep from getting rusty. The whip fell and splashed back into the ocean. Frustrated, she kicked the sand as a bit of fire came from her mouth and hands. A tear fell as she sat down in the sand.
"What's the matter?" A child's voice asked.
She looked up and saw her younger self holding the stuffed polar bear dog toy. She whipped away her tears.
"Why are you sad?" Her younger self asked again.
"Because it's happening all over again." Konna looked her younger self in the eyes.
Her younger self tilted her head. "What's happening all over again?"
Konna looked away. "You wouldn't understand."
"You're afraid." Her younger self stuck her thumb in her mouth as Konna looked back at her and lifted an eyebrow. "You're afraid of getting hurt again. You're afraid of rejection. You're afraid of disappointing Tenzin because you don't want to learn the advanced stuff that he wants you to learn. And most of all, you're afraid of me."
Konna began to tear up again. "You're right. I'm a coward. I'm even afraid of myself."
Her younger self shook her head. "No, you're afraid of hurting those you love."
Konna's eyes burst. "I can love them all I want, but they'll never love me back."
Her younger self stomped her little foot on the ground. "You're wrong! You are loved. Open your eyes. Forget the past and move on!"
"Forget the past?" Konna cocked an eyebrow.
"Opening old wounds only makes them worse." Her younger self faded away.
"Who was that kid?" a male voice came to her ears. She looked up and saw Bolin jogging her way.
She became confused and stood up as he came to a slow halt. "You saw her too?" She asked.
He shrugged. "Ya?"
She smiled. "So I'm not completely crazy?!"
He became even more confused. "Who said you are?"
She shook her head and continued to smile. "No one." She looked into his eyes. "It's just weird to be talking to yourself." She blushed as their eyes met.
He smiled, shrugged, and blushed as well. "Not after everything you've been through… wanna talk about it?" Her smile faded and turned into an angry frown as she shook her head. He chuckled a little. "Ya, that's what I thought." He pondered for a moment. "Whenever you are ready to talk about it, I'm a great listener."
Her angry frown turned a bit sad as she shook her head. "That's just the problem. Once you find out my past, you won't want me to be here anymore." She started to walk away.
"Hey wait!" He lightly grabbed her arm. She looked back at him. He gave her a soft smile. "It's in the past. It doesn't matter anymore."
She blushed and looked down at the arm he was holding. He barely applied any pressure, she only knew he was holding onto her because she felt the warmth of his hand. He began to sweat so her arm became a bit sticky. She looked him in the eyes again. He blushed just as hard as she was. He let go and wiped off the sweat. She held up her arm and rubbed it a bit with her other hand.
"I'm sorry." He blushed even harder.
She blushed even more as well. "For what?"
His face became a deep red. "For grabbing you."
Her blush lightened and she giggled a little. "I didn't really feel a thing. Just a little damp, but that's it."
He let out a sigh. "That's good, I was afraid I was hurting you… I sometimes don't know my own strength." He blushed out of embarrassment.
She lit up with a smile. "Oh ya, you wanted to show me an earth-bending move yesterday… before that other team showed up."
He lit up with a smile as well. "Oh ya. Let's see your stance."
She got into the position she had seen him use. He scratched the back of his neck and walked behind her.
"You're too open." He lightly pulled her arms in a bit. She blushed and her heart began to beat faster, but he didn't notice. "And you look like you are gonna fall over." He used his foot to lightly push her legs in a tiny bit. He walked around her and looked her over. "Much better." He gave her a warm smile.
She gave him a smile back. "This feels weird." She tried to not sound nervous.
"It's, just… You're thinking like a water-bender, earth-bending is different. You'll get used to it after a while." He smiled.
She became confused. "Do you mind explaining?" She let her body relax and become normal.
"Water-bending is all about the movement of energy in the form of water right?" He cocked an eyebrow.
She nodded, sarcastically smiled and rolled her eyes. "Something like that."
"Well, earth-bending is the element of substance. It's all about being steadfast and unwavering." He got into his stance. "But a more modern style is a bit lighter on the feet." He hopped around a bit and bended small rocks around her, trying not to hit her.
She mimicked his pose. "Like this?" she smiled.
"Very close." He got behind her again and repositioned her limbs. "You can loosen up a little." He pushed down her shoulders lightly.
She blushed again as he grabbed her hands and pulled them closer to her body.
"You're also leaving yourself too open." He blushed too when he realized what he was doing and how close he was to her. He gulped. "You're going to get hurt if you don't protect your core."
The salty sea breeze whistled as they stood silent for a moment. Her heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest and start running away as her cheeks became a deep crimson color. His heart and cheeks mimicked hers.
'He wants you.' She looked down at a tide pool in front of her and found the reverse image of herself. She quickly kicked some sand in the water without him noticing.
"Konna!" Tenzin called out from above.
Bolin snapped back to reality. "Ah." He stepped back and let got oh her. "Great form. Keep practicing." He blushed and scratched the back of his head.
"Um thanks." She turned around and blushed as well.
"Konna! Where are you?" Tenzin called out again.
"Coming!" she called out before she used a gust of wind to propel herself to the top of the cliff.
Tenzin turned around as she stuck the landing. "You're picking up air-bending rather nicely." He gave her a sweet smile. "It took Korra a week to stick her landings."
She bowed. "Your kids showed me a bit while you were away."