Oy Vey, Chapter 11! Thanks for the reviews, and you know the usual routine of disclaiming. For you Atalla:-D
I don't know how long I sat like that, but I heard the rattle of keys in the door and opened my eyes to see Iroh enter the room with what looked like bandages and a bottle of something. He looked very unhappy.
"I'm sorry, I should have stopped him." He knelt next to me and began to clean the burn on my arm, then bind it with the white cloth.
"It's not your fault. He's just pig-headed, and used to betrayal." Wow, here I was being sympathetic and forgiving when the guy burned my arm. Then again, I can hardly hold a grudge against anyone.
Iroh looked appreciatively at me. "It's good to see you understand him. I was afraid you'd start to hate him."
I smiled. "Hardly. I don't think I've ever hated anyone my whole life. And I'm pretty sure I haven't been in a fight before." Iroh looked impressed.
"That's somewhat of a feat. You must be quite a peacemaker."
I laughed. "Yeah, I guess you could say I am. I've never been a fan of arguing, though I can. I just don't like confronting people like that. And thanks for taking care of my arm; I never learned how to treat burns."
"Not a problem. It's the least I could do." Iroh gathered his things, and turned to go out the door. "My nephew will most likely release you after he's caught up with the Avatar. Zuko only fears you'll run to the Avatar if you find out where he is."
"There's nothing to worry about, I don't plan on running. Heh, not like I can now anyway." I smiled grimly. Iroh nodded, then left me alone in the cell.
The rest of the day, I sat in the prison mainly sleeping. That night, there was a lot of commotion on deck. I could hear voices and shouting echoing down the halls from above, then much later things got quiet and I fell asleep.
I woke suddenly when the door to my cell was opened and someone shook me roughly. I groggily looked up to see a soldier and the open door.
"Come on, get up. You're allowed to go."
"Did the Prince catch the Avatar?" I got up slowly, testing out my injured arm. It didn't feel hurt at all.
"No. The Avatar got away. If I were you, I wouldn't mention it unless you want another burn or worse."
I nodded, then followed the guard to my room where I took a quick bath without wetting my hair and changed into one of the new outfits I bought. This time, I tied it right; I didn't want to ask anyone to help me dress again.
It was about time for breakfast to be served, so I walked slowly to my beloved cafeteria and my usual spot near Iroh. (I'm being sarcastic) That morning, the men were all too mellow and depressed to stare at me; they all sat over their meals eating silently with the occasional murmur of conversation. I did about the same thing, eating silently. Fortunately for me, Zuko never joined us for the meal so I didn't have to face him yet.
After I'd finished eating, Iroh asked if I was up to starting some basic training today.
"If your arm is feeling better, that is."
I rolled up the sleeve of my tunic/shirt thing and gingerly touched the bandaged area. Oddly enough it wasn't sore or tender at all, so I peeled back some of the wrappings to find my skin was almost entirely healed.
"Wow… that stuff works really well!" Iroh, however, looked like he wasn't too sure it was the medicine he gave me.
"Well, I guess this means you'll be able to train?"
"Yeah, sounds great. But you'll have to forgive me, I'm not very good at this stuff and well-"
"Not a thing to worry about!" Iroh reassured me as we headed above deck, "Everyone starts off at the beginning level."
I laughed. "Yeah, but I'm starting at the beginning much later than everyone else." Iroh smiled appreciatively.
We started with some basic martial arts movements, which weren't too hard considering my Tae Kwon Do background so we moved ahead quickly. Iroh showed me some basic defense moves from the bending styles that I could do with my … powers, I guess. I still couldn't get over the fact that I was controlling water, fire, earth, air, and objects.
Iroh got me to do a roundhouse and trail fire behind my foot, punch objects with air or that force thing I did, and I even managed to drench him with water from over the edge of the ship. That part I did just for fun.
Controlling water was the easiest for me. It was more in my nature to be graceful, so I enjoyed the fluid movements I would do as I manipulated it. I felt like I was dancing with someone I couldn't ever touch, but would do just the right movements to complete the part.
By late that afternoon, Iroh allowed me to lightly spar with him as I tried out some different moves. Of course, he went easy on me but I was still exhausted when he let me go.
At dinner that night we made plans for the next morning, which so happened to be Christmas. I told them about the gift giving in the morning, the tree, decorations, and about how my family reads the birth of Jesus and lights the Advent candles. Iroh said we could give gifts in the morning, and I could do the Advent custom and read, then later that night we would have the whole sing and eat thing.
Oh and have I mentioned that I allowed myself to be pressured into doing a dance that night? Yeah. I don't know why on earth I agreed to dance! I'm a pushover.
As I was getting changed for bed in my room, I noticed a tear on the outfit I'd worn during sparring. I groaned dramatically, throwing my head back as I held the fabric.
"What, is it impossible to keep an outfit from being completely destroyed here! Rrr!"
I sighed, and fingered the cut edges of cloth. Maybe I could find some needles and thread on the ship; possibly in the doctor's room…
Or, I could try… nah I doubt it would work. But still, theoretically it should.
I concentrated on the little threads of fabric, closing my eyes and picturing them joining together, meshing into a whole piece of fabric again. When I opened my eyes I was just in time to see the faintest bit of a tear closing up and becoming smooth.
I almost squealed out loud in happiness at my new-found talent. I could make and fix almost anything now!
