Wandering Firebender
Fifteen: Fiery Waterbender
Elio stood near the edge of the water, practicing with his staff. As usual, he had set his things and his extra clothes off to the side so that nothing would get caught. He practiced spinning his staff with one hand then the other, switching back and forth between the two.
"Elio?" Cindra called to him. He quickly caught the staff with his hand and turned back towards her.
"Hey. How're you doing? I haven't seen you since you ran off last night."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I just…had to wrap my head around everything and figure out what I'm gonna do now… What are you doing?" She asked curiously.
"Training with my staff," He answered. "You wanna give it a try?" He offered.
"Me? Uh… I don't know how to use a staff."
"That's okay. I can show you." He said with a smile. Cindra walked up to him. He handed the staff to her.
"You'll see. It's not that hard to start out."
"Okay… It might be good to learn how to use a weapon since I'll be stuck here with sucky waterbending." She muttered.
"Right… You said that they denied you the chance to learn how to fight because you're a girl, right?" He brought up.
"Yep. It's against tradition." She answered.
"That's kind of dumb. Even in the Fire Nation we have plenty of female soldiers. In fact, one of the best firebenders in our nation is the princess. Seems pretty impractical to me." Elio observed, shaking his head.
"Ha, maybe I should have been a firebender then. Sounds like home could learn a thing or two from the Fire Nation. How sad is that?"
"Mhmm… What happened that made things get so bad that you decided you had to leave?" Elio asked curiously. Cindra sighed.
"That's kind of a long story…"
In the Northern Water Tribe, life wasn't without its challenges, but it was doing better than most places in the world. Virtually untouched by the outside world, they were safe from the tyranny of the Fire Nation.
However, separation from the world was not without its consequences. Society in the North Pole was encapsulated; things had stayed practically the same for decades. So passionate people like Cindra were not given the choice to act in the way they wanted.
Cindra sighed to herself, working on her healing routines like she was supposed to. She'd gotten so used to these practices after doing them repeatedly for so long that she barely thought about them anymore.
It might have been at least a little better if she had the chance to heal actual people rather than just training dummies. But nothing notable was happening in the Northern Water Tribe. They didn't seem interested in what was going on in the world.
But Cindra had heard talk amongst the fishermen and the traders; there was a world war going on. The Fire Nation believed that global conquest was their destiny. But since the Fire Nation had yet to attempt a siege on the North Pole, they weren't concerned at all.
This was frustrating to her! Surely there was something that her people could be doing to help. Perhaps, but it didn't really matter to them. And it wasn't like she'd be able to contribute much; if she got in a fight, she'd be pretty much helpless.
"Cindra, you're exerting too much pressure. Ease up." Her instructor advised her, pulling her out of her thoughts. She flinched and moved her hands away from the dummy, ceasing the healing exercise altogether.
"I'm sorry, Yagoda. I need to take a break. My head's not in the right place for this." She said, clenching and unclenching her fists. She ruffled her hair up a bit, further showing her impatience.
"What's wrong, dear? You haven't been yourself lately." Her instructor observed, placing a concerned hand on her pupil's shoulder. It was getting harder to hide how fed up Cindra had become with the ways of her people.
"Yagoda… What do you know about the war?" She asked.
"Ah," She nodded slowly. "It's been raging on for a long time; about 100 years now. But you've heard the stories already, Cindra. Why is it on your mind?" She asked curiously.
"Well… I don't understand why our tribe hasn't gotten involved in it yet. The whole world seems to be…just crazy when I hear about it." She expressed her thoughts.
"Well, you aren't wrong… However, preserving our way of life has always come first. Neither the North nor the Southern tribes have gotten involved in the war, and with good reason.
"The Fire Nation is a powerful enemy with vast resources. But their focus is on the Earth Kingdom, which holds the most amount of territory. As long as that is their concern, the war isn't our concern." Yagoda explained their tribe's reasoning.
"It doesn't seem right to me… I've only heard negative things. I feel like we should be helping… Do you know if it's really as bad as people are saying it is?"
"I wouldn't know, dear. I haven't ventured far away from here in a long time. If Kanna were here, she could probably tell you more." She thought aloud. Cindra's curiousity quickly spiked.
"Kanna? Who's Kanna?" She asked.
"An old friend of mine. When she was only a little older than you, she ran away from here to escape an arranged marriage. I haven't seen or heard from her since she left, but I wonder if she ever did reach the Southern Water Tribe."
"The Southern Water Tribe… Sorry, we're off track now. I have a better understanding now of why our tribe has remained neutral. Thank you, Yagoda. See you in the next session?" Cindra asked. Yagoda nodded and smiled kindly.
"Of course, Cindra. Stay safe on your way home. When you return tomorrow, we will work on your control while healing." She decided.
"Got it. Bye now!" Cindra waved and hurried out of the healer's training room. She shuffled past some of the younger waterbending girls and made her way towards the royal palace.
"Cindra!" A familiar voice called out to her. Cindra turned around and saw her best friend, Tara, rushing over to her. Tara was like the younger sister Cindra had never had; they'd been friends all their lives.
"Tara! Everything alright?" She asked as Tara fell in step next to her. Tara gave her a look.
"You're heading over to Master Pakku's class again, aren't you?" She questioned.
"Uh, heheh, well…" Cindra chuckled nervously. "I wouldn't say going there this time. I'm just sort of…walking in the general direction of a class that's supposed to start soon?"
"Cindra, you're going to get in trouble! Master Pakku already stated very firmly that he wouldn't speak with you again!" Tara sternly warned her.
"I know that. Which is why I'm not going to speak to Master Pakku… I've found a way to learn from him without him knowing." She revealed with a faint smirk. Tara groaned and shook her head.
"You're sneaking over to watch, aren't you?"
"I can neither confirm nor deny that." Cindra quickly replied.
"Cindra!"
"Look, it's no problem! I'll just slip in, check out a few moves, and grab the things I need from the market on my way back. It'll be like I was never there." She reasoned.
"Right, yeah. And when you get caught, you think that'll be a good enough excuse?" Tara asked.
"Dunno. Guess I'll just have to not get caught then," She said with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Tara! Say hi to your mom for me!" She said before hurrying off. Tara sighed and turned around to go back home.
Cindra had pulled this off enough times where she could do it with confidence: she would make her way towards the front entrance, but before reaching it, she would walk around to the side, following alongside the moat that separated the town from the palace and the training grounds.
Once she was almost all the way to one side, she would use her waterbending to create a small plank of ice to balance across. She would quickly and carefully tightrope her way to the other side. She turned back and quickly broke her walkway in half to cover her tracks.
From there, it was a simple climb up the ice walls to the training grounds. It was far away, but Cindra had an unblocked field of view to Master Pakku's class. As she took her position, it seemed that the last of his students were just arriving…
Unfortunately, Cindra hardly ever had the time to stay and observe the whole session, but she took in as much as she can before making her way back home. She passed through the market, purchasing the things on her family's shopping list before coming home.
"Cindra! Do you have the food from the marketplace?" Her mother asked as soon as she came through the doors.
"Yes, mother! I'll bring them over!" Cindra called to her, knowing that her mother was in the kitchen preparing dinner and was waiting on her for the last ingredients. She removed her shoes and quickly rushed over to join her.
"Thank you, Cindra. How was your class today?"
"It was okay. Yagoda says that I need to work more on my control." Cindra answered.
"You've been 'letting your mind wander' again, haven't you? You've gotta rein it in, Cindra. These techniques that you're learning are very important. There could come a day where one of our men is injured and they'll be looking to you to help them." Her mother reminded her.
"Absolutely right," Her father agreed as he stepped into the kitchen to take a seat at the dining room table. "And if that day ever comes, being distracted won't be a good enough excuse, sweetheart."
"I know, dad." Cindra said, helping her mother with the cooking.
"You never know, dear. When that day comes, the man that you lay your hands on to heal could just be the man that you were meant to fall in love with." Her mother suggested, as if this would make the prospect more appealing to her.
"I don't know about that, mom." Cindra said hesitantly, shaking her head.
"It's how I met your father," Her mother stated. "After that hunting accident."
"Oh, I'll never forget. My leg was all torn up. It was not a romantic scene," Her father laughed. "But your mother healed me, and she was very kind. It wasn't long after that before things ran their course." He recalled fondly.
"That'll be you someday, dear." Her mother smiled at her.
"It sounds nice and all, but nothing ever happens here. I doubt it'll happen to me."
"Maybe not, but the point still stands. Your lessons are important, and you should take them seriously; which means giving them your full focus." Her father stated. Cindra nodded.
"Yes, father."
"Food's almost ready. Please set the table, dear. Your brother should be joining us shortly." Her mother requested. Cindra silently did as she was told, setting the table and taking her seat at her father's right hand.
Cindra's younger brother, Ansel, came in through the door a couple minutes later. He removed his shoes and jacket and entered into the kitchen with a mild smile. He took his seat at their father's left hand, while their mother finally took her seat across the table after she'd finished setting down everyone's plates of food.
"Thank you, Cari. How was your training today, son?" Their father asked.
"It was okay," He answered, keeping his eyes down as he ate. "Master Pakku can be rough sometimes." He commented. Cindra's eyebrows furrowed.
"Did something happen? Did you lose another sparring match?" She asked. She knew that her brother wasn't the strongest of fighters; he averaged out on the lower end of the middle of the pack amongst his fellow students.
"I slipped up," He answered with a sigh, taking a sip of water. "It won't happen again."
"Pay close attention to your mistakes, son," Their father advised. "Practice so that way it won't happen again. Every day you get better and better."
Ansel didn't respond to him. He continued to eat his food silently, clearly upset. Whatever had happened was clearly weighing heavily on his mind. It frustrated Cindra that she couldn't do anything for him either. She was even worse off than he was.
"What's on your mind, baby? Speak freely." Their mother invited him softly. Ansel looked up at the concerned eyes of his family looking at him. He took another nervous sip of water.
"Um…" His voice went hoarse and quiet. "Master Pakku… He knows I'm struggling with the level we're at right now. He won't let me move on until I figure it out."
"I see…" Their father nodded in understanding, "Keep working at it, son. You'll get it."
"Yeah…" Ansel sighed and finished his food. He got up from the table. "I'm going to go out and practice some more." He said before excusing himself from the table. No one else spoke until he had exited the house.
"Poor boy," Cari shook her head. "Sometimes I wish the master wouldn't be so hard on him. He's really trying."
"He won't get better unless he learns to push past his limits. That's just the way it works."
"I'm going to talk to him. Try and cheer him up a bit." Cindra said as she got up from the table.
"Alright, dear. Just keep it brief then let him be. He needs his focus." Her father said. Cindra nodded and put her dishes away before going out the back entrance to speak to Ansel.
She stepped out the back door of the house. She found Ansel making his way towards the ocean so that he could practice. She followed him out and walked at a quicker pace so that she could catch up with him.
"Hey, Ansel! Wait up for a second!" She called to him. Ansel glanced back at her and rubbed his hands together.
"You shouldn't be out here, Cindra. The temperature's going down now." He said.
"We've both lived here all our lives, dork. I'll be fine. I just wanna make sure you don't overdo it out here. Talk to me; tell me what's going on." She offered.
"You wouldn't get it." Ansel shook his head. Cindra stepped in front of him to look him in the eyes.
"I may not be skilled in waterbending like you, but I can still help. Talk me through what's going on. I can try to help." She insisted, putting a hand on his arm. He looked up at her hesitantly.
"Isn't that against the traditions? I don't want you to get in trouble."
"It's not like you're teaching me anything. I just wanna help you figure it out." She said with a smile. Ansel thought about this and finally nodded in agreement.
"Okay… Well there's this one move that's giving me more trouble than the others. It goes like this."
Ansel did his best to recall the move as Master Pakku had taught him in class. As he explained it, he went through the stances without waterbending. Cindra observed each step closely, sitting and watching him attempt it multiple times.
Then she saw it. Ansel was going through the movements in an overly cautious manner; because he wasn't flowing through the movements, the water would bounce around awkwardly and fall to the ground.
"I don't know what's going on with me, Cindra. I feel like Pakku's getting in my head. The way that he talks to me; I feel like I'm not doing anything right." He sighed.
"But you see that's the problem, Ansel," Cindra said as she stood up and walked to him. "You're getting self-conscious and overthinking it. You gotta go with the flow. That's the main principle of waterbending, remember?" She reminded him. He looked down and nodded.
"Yeah, you're right… I don't know. I'm trying, Cindra, but maybe I've just reached my limit," He said in defeat. "But thanks for trying." He said to her before turning away and walking back home.
Watching him go, Cindra sighed and scratched the back of her head. She hated to see her little brother like this; she had no idea what Master Pakku and others like him were saying to him. Ever since he'd begun training, it seemed like he was always being pressured to become more skilled.
That only further fed into her own frustrations; she was forced to stand off to the side and watch as those she loved took on the responsibilities of protecting everyone. She wanted to help somehow, but that just wasn't an option for her.
Cindra stepped into the same position that Ansel had shown her. She bent some water over to her and went through the motions, pushing herself through it. It was sloppy, but she successfully pulled off the attack after only a couple tries.
"Well well well, what do we have here?" Another voice broke the air. Cindra turned and saw Master Pakku standing there, "Do you know how sick I am of catching you breaking our traditions?"
"Master Pakku?! What are you doing here?!" She exclaimed in shock.
"I came here to inform your father that he needs to keep a better eye on you. I'm aware that you've been sneaking peeks at my classes." He said.
"Wh-What?! How?! Who told you?" She demanded.
"Do you really think that we wouldn't be keeping an eye on you after your last few violations?"
"It was Tara, wasn't it? She told you!" Cindra realized. Tara was the only person she had told where she was going.
"Your punishment will be dealt with in the morning. I suggest you think very hard about how you will apologize to the council for your blatant disrespect." Master Pakku said, turning his back to her and walking away.
"I won't apologize for doing what's right when no one else will! And I definitely won't give the satisfaction to a self-righteous slug like you!" She declared, redoing the waterbending attack and aiming it towards him.
Pakku reacted immediately, turning around and extending his hands out. He caught her attack and turned it around in a circle, shooting off to the side of her. Cindra tried to catch it and redirect it, but it simply splashed next to her.
"A splash of water isn't going to change my mind, little girl, no matter how hard you throw it. If I were you, I'd hurry home before you make an even bigger embarrassment of yourself." He said coldly before continuing on his way.
Cindra growled angrily. She wanted to try another attack just to spite him, but she could see that it was pointless. It wasn't just that he was skilled; it was that she wasn't skilled. Healing techniques would do nothing for her in a fight.
Cindra made her way back home. She felt a lump in her throat as she approached the back door. She knew she was about to get a serious scolding from her parents again. She wasn't sure she could take this again.
"That better be you coming back inside, Cindra!" Her father barked as she walked in. Cindra winced and followed the sound of his voice to the living room.
"Hello, father, mother." She said quietly, looking them both in the eyes. Her father looked angry and her mother looked deeply concerned. She swallowed nervously.
"Is our way of life a joke to you, Cindra?" Her father demanded.
"Kawan, honey. Let's give Cindra a chance to explain herself." Cari advised.
"Right, yes, do you have a reason this time? Or are you going to say 'I don't know' again?" He questioned. Cindra shrunk back nervously, but she decided to speak up. She was tired of keeping her feelings bottled up inside.
"I'm sick of being useless!" She said, raising her voice.
"Useless? You're not useless, honey." Her mother said.
"But I'm not doing that much either. Ansel and dad train every single day. There's a war going on out there in the world and yet we're all sitting here acting like it isn't! And what if the Fire Nation comes here! What am I supposed to do about it?!" She questioned.
"Who's been telling you all of these things?" Her mother asked.
"Word comes around from merchants and the sailors. Everyone knows about it, mom."
"Watch your tone," Her father warned. "And if that's what you're so concerned about, you already have a solution. Get your mind focused on your healing exercises! That's how you would help!"
"But that's not enough!" She argued, "Suppose I'm healing Ansel in one of the med bays and a Fire Nation soldier comes in and attacks me. What am I gonna do, heal him to death?" She pointed out.
"We've survived as long as we have because of our way of life! It is not a matter of debate! Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in, Cindra?" Her father raised his voice at her.
"I don't care about the council!" She shouted. "I'm tired of being told what role I need to play! I want to do more but no one will take me seriously here… I'm done!" She stormed to her room.
"Cindra! Cindra, get back here!" Her father shouted. However, Cindra slammed the door to her room shut.
Fighting the urge to let tears blind her vision, she grabbed her biggest pack and started grabbing her clothes. She shoved clothes into her pack and closed it up. She opened the door and made her way to the kitchen to grab some food.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Her mother demanded.
"I'm leaving. Since my own people won't listen to me, maybe I'll get some real help in the Southern Water Tribe." She decided, shoving food into her pack.
"You're gonna travel all the way across the world? Enough of this foolishness, Cindra! It's time for you to stop playing these games and accept your role!" Her father demanded.
"No, father! I won't! I will decide what role I play! And if I have to leave my home behind to get it then I'll do it!" She declared.
"And what happens when you get attacked by the Fire Nation on your way there? You don't know how to fight, Cindra! You're not gonna make it." Her father pointed out.
"Well, I'm not gonna learn anything sitting around here!" Cindra shouted back, picking up her pack and marching out the front door.
"Cindra! Come back here!" Her mother shouted.
"Let her go. She'll realize before she can leave what she's doing is foolish." She heard her father say…
"So that was it? You just…got up and left?" Elio asked in surprise. Cindra, who had been in the middle of practicing a staff routine, finished up the last swing and stood up straight.
"Yeah… It was a full moon that night. Waterbenders get stronger during the full moon. I'm not that good, but I was able to use what I knew to get me to the Earth Kingdom. So now here I am.
"Since I left, I'm having to figure everything out for myself. I've hunted for my own food, made my own shelter, and figured out my way this far down into the Earth Kingdom…
"But now that I know that there's nothing waiting for me in the Southern Water Tribe, I guess it really was foolish to go; all for nothing," She said with a sad smile. "I don't know what to do. I doubt they'd welcome me back if I tried to go home."
"You were brave to take your stand, Cindra. I wish I had been courageous enough to do the same with my father, rather than just leaving everything behind and explain myself in a letter." Elio said regretfully.
"Yeah… Thank you for the lesson, Elio. At least I learned something out here." She said, planting one end of the staff on the ground and holding out it to Elio. He took hold of it and looked at her, and a thought entered into his mind...
"Cindra… Why don't you and I travel together?"
"You and me?" Cindra asked in surprise, "Why?"
"You said it yourself; there's nothing waiting for you. I'm in the same boat. At least this way, we'd know we'd have somebody to watch each other's backs, you know?"
"You'd really trust me to do that?"
"I would now," He answered with a faint smile. "We can figure this stuff out together. What do you say?" He asked. Cindra hummed, tapping her thumb against the staff. She finally nodded and smiled.
"Sure. Let's do it." She agreed.
"Alright," He smiled back. "I guess now we should decide where to go from here."
"Well, I've been hearing a lot how Ba Sing Se is the safest city in the world right now. I think that would be a good destination." She said.
"Then let's go to Ba Sing Se." He agreed with a nod. The two gathered their things in their packs and began walking.
"That guide said there was a city on the other side of the tunnel. We'll probably run into it eventually if we go this way." She reasoned.
"I guess we'll see… I think it'll be nice having someone to travel with." Elio said, smiling at her. She smiled back and blushed slightly.
"I think so too," She nodded. "Just don't get any funny ideas." She then warned him quickly.
"Haha, never crossed my mind." He replied with a chuckle…
