Love forever love is free
Let's turn forever you and me
Windmill, windmill for the land
Is everybody in?
--Feel Good Inc, Gorillaz
"Siam… I didn't know that you had a brother?"
Siam eyes popped open only to reel back from the radiant sun light that glistened off the morning dew.
"Eh, what did you say? I didn't hear you," Siam asked.
"In your sleep you kept saying that you missed your brother. But I thought that you were an only child…"
Siam paused for a second and rubbed her eyes. "I am. I don't know why I would be saying that."
Mrs. Yoji shrugged her shoulders and beckoned Siam over to the fire. "Well come and eat. Before we start traveling again though, I have some training that I think you'll need."
Siam, blinded by the sunlight, rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms but reluctantly reached for her staff. Mrs. Yoji walked a couple paces away and turned around to face Siam only to find her leaning against her staff.
"Siam, wake up and concentrate. The strength and distance of your attack is determined by its focus. Being conscious doesn't hurt either."
Siam sidestepped Mrs. Yoji's next attack then swung her staff horizontally at the next one. The blade of air flew straight at the boulder and smacked it head of stopping the attack. With all its momentum gone the giant rock fell to the ground with a scar that marred its face.
Siam was surprised that she could stop the boulder dead in its tracks but was also discouraged that she had failed to split the rock. "I don't know how to form a sharp edge with a round staff, Mrs. Yoji. I'm not sure if it's even possible."
Mrs. Yoji sighed and shook her head. "It's possible but maybe you're not ready yet." Mrs. Yoji pondered for a second looking at the ground. She spotted a round rock and picked it up. "Siam… I want you to attack me with a ranged air attack. Do it with as hard as you can."
With a confused look on her face Siam silently obeyed. She twirled her body around and swung her staff with it to create a blast of wind. The attack charged at Mrs. Yoji at an alarming rate. When it reached the woman she brought her arm out and jumped in the air while letting the attack to strike her hand. The momentum spun Mrs. Yoji midair in a circle. At the last moment she released the rock she had been holding and sent it flying past Siam. The rock hit the earth hard and continued spinning as it bore into the ground.
Siam stared in awe at the force she had just witnessed. "M-Mrs. Yoji, that was amazing! But how did you do it?"
"What do you mean how did I do it? Isn't it obvious? I performed it just how you saw it. By using the momentum in your attack I was able to add my own strength to double the attacks power. Although my hand is a little numb… But to perform this feat you need to know a couple things. First of all, when you do this you need to flow with your opponents attack. If you react to slow you will receive the brunt of the force and possible lose your hand or leg. If you go too fast, you lose the majority of the momentum you wanted to use…"
Desperately trying to keep up Siam figured that it made sense but it all sounded rather complicated to her.
"…Lastly," continued Mrs. Yoji. "You need to practice controlling your spin and when to release your attack. This technique is very dangerous but is very effective when performed correctly."
For the next couple hours Mrs. Yoji showed Siam how to practice the technique by herself and how to adapt the technique to the different elements. By the end Siam found herself very worn out and exhausted. As evening approached they called it a day and sat in the hut next to the fire. Mrs. Yoji stared at the fire for a second then turned to Siam.
"Siam there is one more thing I want to teach you before we head out tonight."
"But I'm completely worn out," complained Siam.
"It is only a technique that I've hypothesized on so I don't expect you to do anything. Listen and answer this question. What does a fire bender's fire come from?"
Siam paused and stared at the fire but then shook her head.
"Fire benders are actually gathering together particles of heat released by the sun. This is why when there is a solar eclipse they can't bend fire to their will. But then they gather these particles together they use the air as fuel to actually burn. Now my theory is that what if an air bender created a vacuum of space in the path or around a fire attack. The lack of air would demolish even the largest of fire attack. The only problem is that even if one could create a vacuum that is devoid of air, the strain of maintaining it is too great." Mrs. Yoji again stared into the crackling fire as her thoughts trailed off. "In theory at least," she ended. "Anywho, I want to arrive at the temple tomorrow morning at use the cover of darkness to assist us in arriving there safely. We'll be sleeping for a couple hours then we'll pack up and leave. Good night."
"Good night," Siam replied as she recounted what Mrs. Yoji had taught her. It was very surprising and a coincidence how much Mrs. Yoji knew that airbending techniques.
One day I'll have to interview Mrs. Yoji for more of her theories to complete my work, thought Siam as she killed the fire and fell asleep.
As she slept soundly a pair of eyes peered through the trees and stared at the make shift house. The lone figure silently leapt to the ground and proceeded toward the small hut with harmful intent.
He stole through the tall grass with the sound of the wind masking his quick movements. When he heard a slight noise, the boy crouched to the ground while staring through the brush that tickled his face. Upon hearing complete silence again he continued his decent toward the small hut.
As he crept through the hut's opening he heard shallow breathing coming from the two figures that lay sleeping on the floor. Slowly he crossed the threshold toward Siam. As he bent over her the boy gently stroked Siam's the hair out of her mouth.
"Big brother," Siam whispered in her sleep.
The boy smiled as he picked Siam up from where she slept. Siam shift in his arms and hugged his neck as they left the room.
"Big brother," Siam whispered again.
Siam was suddenly shaken awake when the boy carrying her jumped sideways to avoid getting smashed by a boulder. Rising up from where she had been hiding, Mrs. Yoji sent a shockwave of walls that rose in front of the person carrying Siam.
"What do you want with her," Mrs. Yoji cried out as she attacked. "If you continue to escape then you will leave me no choice."
The boy said nothing but paused for a second and looked at Siam who still looked confused and groggy. She knew that she should be scared or angry but for some reason Siam felt comforted in these surprisingly familiar arms.
The boy was about to say something when for walls shot up around them and cut off any escape. The boy looked again from Siam to the wall then got into a stance. As he gritted his teeth Siam noticed something small shining inside his tunic. A second later the boy released a torrent of fire that twisted into a tornado around the two of them.
Siam gazed in awe as the walls around them melted instantaneously in a heaping piled of molten lava.
"Hold on tight sister," the boy spoke as he jumped through the fiery storm. As they flew through the spiraling fire Siam realized that she felt none of the heat. From that moment the last thing she remembered was a cylindrical rock smacking her head hard.
She awoke in what felt like seconds later on a rocky surface next to a campfire. The girl felt pressure on her fore head and reached up to find a bandage wrapped around her head. She tried to get up only to be knocked over by the blinding pain that shot through her head. As she fell backward strong arms reached out and caught her gently. She slowly turned her head to see the boy that had caught her.
"You should be more careful… your head is still swelling from that devil-woman's attack. Please lie down sister."
The girl looked at the boy in a dazed state. "Sister? I don't know you. I-I don't remember you at all." The girl then stared at her hands then back at the boy. "I don't remember anything. Where am I? Who am I…"
The girl tried to back away as the boy drew closer. She didn't know who he was and only wanted desperately to get away.
"I don't know you. Please, just leave me alone,"
When the boy didn't comply with her request she started to crawl even faster all the while looking for a weapon. Looking at her side she found a peculiar staff that was somehow strapped to her back. She grabbed the staff as swung it around at her assailant. To her astonishment, a blade of wind struck the boy instead of the staff. The girl immediately dropped the staff and crawled up into a ball.
Recovering from the blow, the boy's face betrayed a hint of alarm towards the girl's state but whatever traces of doubt he had suddenly vanished with the return of his kind smile. Again he approached her with more determination then before. He then extended his arms and hugged her with all his might. The girl sighed in content for reasons that she didn't understand.
"It will be alright," he whispered. "I'm here now… your big brother is here." The boy then bent his head down and whispered in her ear. "Built on intent; resolved with hate."
His voice sounded monotone in her but at the same time melodious and addicting. The line twisted through the girl's head and drove out memories she never knew existed.
"Destroyed with anger; weak becoming great," the girl replied in harmony with him. "Reborn with might; cast in the dark. Edge of the spear; fire born from a spark. Burning with desire all to do them ill. We thirst for power, the need to KILL."
The girl made a small cry then slumped her head against the boy. The boy then laid her back down on the crude bed that he had set up and waited.
After a few minutes had passed by the boy noticed a breeze. The small wind increased and started to flow around the girl. The wind around her increased so much that it lifted her off the ground. The boy stood outside the funnel patiently and immediately caught her in his arms as the wind dissipated.
"Brother," the girl cried out as she laid back down on the bed.
"My sister, I am sorry for taking so long. I was forced to bide my time before meeting you."
"All is forgiven my dear brother," replied the sister. "But I… feel weak. Even though she has forgotten who she is… The turmoil in her life is almost gone. I feel as though I am fading."
The brother face paled upon hearing this and bent on one knee to hold her hand as it shook.
"What can I do," asked the brother.
"The only thing to do; you have to tell her about me… about her real past. Then she will find out who her allegiance really belong to."
Author's Notes: I have to say that I really enjoyed writing this part. The little rhyme was all original (me and my badass self).
The first part of this entire story pretty much flowed out of me like a flash flood. I typed and typed until the end of the first book (the western airtemple annihilation) and then felt burned out. I was preplanning Mrs. Yoji's character while thinking of what they would do and then poof they go to her house and stuff happens. I then keeled over a second time (I hate it when that happens).
Anywho the technique described in this section was something I thought up to be a time killer as well as a character building time (yea right). I'm lastly going to add that I don't care about grammar in author's notes. fin
Ps: I'm going to give the new brother a name at some point in the story but I was being lazy and didn't include a name. meh.