Wandering Firebender
Twenty-One: Agni Kai
It was a rough night for both Elio and Cindra. After last night's dangerous, emotionally turbulent events, they were both forced to sleep heavily on the ground downstream from where they were.
When Elio woke up and washed his face in the river, he found that Cindra was already awake and sitting alone with her feet in the water. She waved him over. He brushed his hair back and walked over to sit with her.
"Hey, Cindra. What're you doing up already?" He asked.
"I had a tough time sleeping last night. I woke up a while ago and couldn't go back to sleep... I've been thinking."
"About last night? And what happened with the moon?" Elio asked. Cindra nodded.
"Yeah... Tui told me to watch for a sign. You saw it too, Elio. The moon turned red. And it was gone! It just disappeared! And when it disappeared, I couldn't bend; that has to be what he was talking about." She said.
"Yeah. Honestly, what else could it be? That was crazy." He agreed. He was still hesitant to regard the spirit world as real, but even he couldn't deny what he had seen.
"Yeah. I think that it's time for me to start heading home, Elio. I'll need to start making my way north." She said. Elio nodded and sighed.
"Yeah, you're probably right... Well, we'll eat our breakfast and start heading up." He said.
"No," Cindra looked at him. "You should continue going up toward Ba Sing Se. You still have Cassian and his men after you." She pointed out.
"I'm not letting you go alone, Cindra," Elio said. "Ba Sing Se will still be waiting for me when you're gone. Besides, you need the map to know where you're going." He pointed out. Cindra looked down and smiled sadly.
"Yeah, that's true... Yeah, you're right. I just didn't want to endanger you unnecessarily. You've already gone through so much." She said.
"You're gonna be in danger now too. So until you're on a boat sailing to the North Pole, I'm gonna stick by you just like you've stuck by me." He decided. She smiled at him.
"Thanks, Elio."
"No need to get sappy on me," He said with a chuckle, tapping her on the arm with his fist before getting up. "I'll grab us some food so we can get going."
So Elio and Cindra ate their breakfast and immediately began their trek to the northernmost part of the Earth Kingdom. After using their map to determine the most direct route to the north beach, they crossed over the river and walked through the trees.
It wasn't long before the two of them reached a town. However, unfortunately for them, it was controlled by the Fire Nation. The two of them warily looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
"Should we just keep moving?" Cindra asked. Elio looked at the map again.
"We shouldn't stop, but we have to pass through to the other side of this town to keep on the path." He answered. Cindra swallowed nervously.
"Okay... Well, hoods on. We'll just try to be inconspicuous."
Elio and Cindra put on their hoods, sticking close to each other as they made their way through town. It was a quiet afternoon in town, but they could see Fire Nation soldiers randomly posted around town, or just casually walking up and down the streets.
"This place is crawling with soldiers." Cindra said quietly to Elio.
"Yeah," He nervously agreed, his eyes scanning around cautiously. "Just keep your head down. We're almost there." He said.
"Hey, you two!" A soldier's voice called out.
The two of them froze and slowly turned around. They saw a soldier was stopping two men with a big cart full of vegetables. They sighed in relief and looked at each other. However, Elio's eyes widened at the sight of a man in uniform coming up right behind Cindra.
"Cindra!" He exclaimed, but it was too late. The soldier grabbed Cindra and pulled her into a choke hold, pressing his fist against her head. She shrieked and tried to pull herself free. Elio held his hands out.
"Let her go, Cassian!" Elio shouted. Cassian tightened his grip on Cindra, glaring angrily at Elio.
"You've slipped away from me for the last time, Elio!" He growled, keeping Cindra in place. Realizing who was holding her captive, she stopped struggling as much so she wouldn't get a fireball through her head.
"Let her go, Cassian! This is between you and me. She's not part of this." He said.
"Oh ho, I disagree. She became a part of this as soon as she started helping you run. I intend to take you both in. So will you come quietly, or will I have to kill your pretty girlfriend? Or better yet, why don't you run away? That seems to be your new solution to real problems." Cassian taunted.
Elio swallowed nervously. His eyes scanned around again. Fire Nation soldiers were starting to slowly surround them. Regular citizens were also watching. Elio removed his hood. He recalled what Rala had said; he needed to face this head-on.
"Cassian... I know that it's me you want. So face me. Agni Kai at sunset." He challenged. Cassian scoffed.
"An Agni Kai is meant to be on the grounds of honor. You have no honor to uphold, you rat!" He spat at him.
"But I have honor to regain. You're right, I did run away. But I am willing to face you one-on-one, the way I know you want it. Just promise me you won't hurt Cindra."
"Elio, don't!" Cindra shouted. Cassian roughly pulled her backwards to silence her.
"Urgh!" Cassian grunted angrily, looking around him. All eyes were on them. Elio was issuing a formal challenge, and Cassian had his own honor to uphold, not to mention defending the honor of Elio's family, which Elio smeared when he ran away.
"Very well, Elio. Agni Kai it is. But you both will be staying in my camp with my men until the fight. And when I win, I will take you both as prisoner." He agreed before letting Cindra go. Cindra immediately ran to Elio, ready to fight.
"Deal," Elio said. He held his arm up in front of Cindra and spoke softly to her. "Don't attack them. I have to do this,"
"Promise me this, Cassian. Cindra won't be hurt while we're in your care. Either that or we make this ugly." He stipulated.
"Deal. Follow me." Cassian motioned for them to follow. Several soldiers came to escort Elio and Cindra behind Cassian.
They were taken to Cassian's camp outside of town. Cassian ordered for them to be taken into his personal tent where they would not be touched. Once they were inside, Cassian stood at the entrance of the tent with his hands behind his back.
"You both will remain here until it's time. If you try to escape, my men are ordered to burn you to the ground on sight." Cassian warned them.
"We're not running, Cassian. Not this time." Elio said, standing before him. Cassian scoffed and shook his head.
"Just be glad there were witnesses, Elio. You don't deserve to stand there and challenge me." He insulted before turning and stepping out of the tent.
"What are you doing?!" Cindra growled, walking in front of Elio and shaking him, "We could've gotten out of there!" She said.
"There were too many men, Cindra," Elio shook his head. "Besides, I need to face Cassian. It was bound to happen sooner or later. At least this way, it will be one-on-one: equal grounds."
"Is that what this is? Okay, so what is an Agni Kai? A fight?" Cindra asked. Elio nodded.
"Yeah. It's a one-on-one firebending duel. At sunset, we'll walk out to open ground away from anyone else. It'll just be me and him. He might have one man with him to spectate the match. You'll be my spectator. It'll be your job to back me up if Cassian tries to break any rules." He explained.
"Oh... Ohh! That's perfect! Then we can just make a break for it, right?" Cindra asked. Elio shook his head.
"No. I'm going to fight Cassian. If I run away, he will make sure that the entire Fire Nation military knows our names."
"What about all our stuff? Even if you were to win, I doubt Cassian will let us just walk away." She asked.
"I don't know yet... We'll figure something out. But we will get out of this." Elio said, putting his hands on her shoulders and doing his best to sound reassuring. Truthfully, he wanted to believe that they would get out of this, but he had no idea how.
"Okay..." Cindra said nervously. They both sat down. "So what are the rules of an Agni Kai?" She asked.
"The two of us will meet in open ground at sunset. We'll begin with our backs to each other on opposite sides of the field. We'll turn to each other. The duel requires that neither of us wear armor; just pants. When the sign is given, the fight will start."
"How do you win?" She asked.
"One of us has to burn the other somewhere. It doesn't matter where really. It is possible to yield too. But with how vicious the Fire Nation is, sometimes Agni Kais are just a fight to the death. If Cassian gets the upper hand on me, he may decide to fatally wound me." Elio warned.
"Oh gosh..." Cindra shuddered at the thought. "Can you be disqualified in any way?"
"By running away, forfeiting, or stepping outside of the dueling ground. If I were to knock Cassian out of bounds, that would count as a win, but it wouldn't be a satisfying enough win."
"What will he do if you win?" Cindra asked.
"I don't know... In his mind, he's not going to lose. It's not a possibility he's willing to accept. So if I do manage to best him, you'll need to be ready to grab me and run." Elio said.
"Got it. But not until you've won." She said.
"Right... If I do lose, Cindra, I want you to run, okay? Don't save me. If I can, I will try to catch up with you." Elio instructed. Cindra's eyes widened.
"What?! No! Weren't you just talking about how I stick by you and you stick by me? Always?!" She reminded him. Elio nodded.
"Yes, but this is different. This is Fire Nation sacred tradition. Win or lose, the results have to be indisputable. Agni Kais are almost like law." He explained to her.
"But this is the Fire Nation we're talking about, Elio! You don't even believe in this stuff!" She argued.
"I don't believe in what the Fire Nation is doing. But I am still a citizen. The Fire Nation is in my blood. So up until a certain point, yes I do believe in this stuff. Promise me that you won't interfere with this fight." Elio requested.
Cindra folded her arms and exhaled heavily. She didn't want to agree to this. It made no sense to her. But clearly for Elio, this meant something deeper to him. In her mind, she was already resolved to do what she could to make sure they would escape this together.
"Fine. I promise. But as soon as I see an opportunity, I'm going to bail you out." Cindra said.
"Okay." Elio nodded and sighed.
"Is this really that important to you, Elio?" Cindra asked, being softened by Elio's heavy expression. He looked up at her and nodded.
"Yes... This is incredibly personal to me. Even if I don't really wanna do this, it's something that needs to be done." He answered in full seriousness.
Some time later, Cassian entered into his tent. Elio and Cindra were sitting together and eating. The silence was full of tension as Cassian walked to his bag and sifted through it.
"Has anyone touched you since I've been gone?" He asked.
"No. We've been left alone." Elio answered.
"Alright," He nodded. "I've ordered that the town's main road be cleared out for our fight. My subordinate will handle any fires we may cause."
"Good," Elio nodded. He hesitated to speak further, but he stood up. "Cassian... I'm really sorry that it's come to this. I wish it didn't have to be this way."
"Save it, Elio. You made your decision, and now you have to deal with the consequences. This is one of those consequences." Cassian said with a frustrated exhale, gesturing back and forth between them.
"You're right about that. But still, I am sorry. I know that this must hurt you."
"Hurt me?" Cassian scoffed, standing up now, "What about your family, Elio? Did you think about what you've done to them? Hmm? Have you given them any thought since you turned your back on our whole nation?" He raised his voice at him.
"Every day," Elio answered with a sigh. "Are they doing okay?"
"Tch," Cassian shook his head. "They're still figuring out how to process the blatant dishonor that you've left them with. Your own father wrote to me to tell me what you did. I'm surprised he's even willing to mention you by name!"
Elio sighed sadly, "I know that you wouldn't understand, Cassian, but I had to do this."
"You 'had to do this'," Cassian repeated. "No, all you 'had to do' was face your father like a real man! You and I both knew that you didn't want to join the military, but you never really spoke to him like I told you to, did you?" He questioned.
"No." Elio admitted.
"So you lied to me the last time we spoke," Cassian reminded him. "Words can't describe how shocked and disgusted I was when I got that letter from your father telling me what you did, Elio. If it weren't for this fight, I could kill you right now." He threatened, getting in Elio's face.
Cindra quickly reached for her water pouch, ready to fight. However, Elio held his hand up again to stop Cindra from attacking. He stared back at Cassian, not backing down.
"I really did try to pursue what I wanted, Cassian. For a short period of time, I had what I wanted. And I was willing to do it on my own in a disgraced state... But even when I lost my dream, I didn't lose my morals. You and I both know the Fire Nation has done many questionable things, to put it lightly." He argued.
"This is war, Elio! What do you expect?!" Cassian shouted.
"It's our war, Cassian! The Fire Nation started it! We started it! You've seen it for yourself! The world hates us, and you're really going to stand here and tell me that they have no reason to?" Elio questioned.
"There's been plenty of hatred and blame to go around for centuries, Elio. Especially the Earth Kingdom. The war has only been a formal way of finally settling the unrest that's been around for a very long time.
"You stand here and you try to morally grandstand, but the fact of the matter is you are not a good person, Elio. When your family and your people needed you, you turned your back on them. You could have made a huge difference in ending this conflict, yet you chose to run, and now you have the nerve to stand before me and use the war as an excuse for what you did?"
Elio's eyebrows furrowed and his expression saddened. Cassian shook his head and stepped back, making his way to the entrance of the tent. Elio brushed his hair back and looked at him.
"I know we'll never see eye to eye on this, but you're still my brother, Cassian." Elio said. Cassian said nothing as he left them in the tent.
"Well...that could have gone better." Cindra commented awkwardly.
Things were quiet for the rest of the afternoon. As the day drew to its closing moments, the anxiety began to rise in the two of them, especially Elio. When Cassian finally came back to the entrance, tensions were at an all-time high.
"It's time." Cassian said, already wearing his shoulder gear and appropriate attire. Elio stood up, still wearing his normal tunic. He left his staff and pack by the entrance of the tent. Cindra stood up as well. He nodded.
"Let's go." He said.
The three of them walked away from the camp and back into town. As Cassian had promised, the town was cleared out and quiet. It was like walking into another ghost town. The ends of their arena were marked with lines in the ground. Cassian joined his subordinate. Elio walked with Cindra to his side of the arena.
"Sir, if I may ask, why are you fighting this man? He's nothing more than a traitor." Cassian's man asked him. Cassian glanced back at Elio.
"You are correct. But this is personal. The two of us have a long, deep history. It's on the grounds of our former brotherhood that he's challenged me." Cassian explained...
"Are you sure about this, Elio?" Cindra asked him, "I know he's like your brother, but he's really strong. Are you sure you can win?" She asked.
"There's only one way to find out, I guess. But I do know him well enough to know I have a shot." Elio said. He began to strip down to just his pants, removing his boots and his upper garments...
"Do you intend to kill your former friend, Cassian?" His subordinate questioned. Cassian got down on one knee with his back to Elio.
"I'm not sure yet. First, I need to worry about besting him...
"Elio is one of the most technically proficient firebenders I've ever known. He's smart, light on his feet, and his firebending style is very adaptable. He can do things that very few firebenders know how to do.
"His weakness is in his attitude. He's too soft to go for a killing blow. He'll try to do the bare minimum to win this fight. I have to exploit that; if I power through his defenses, I can overwhelm him." Cassian reasoned...
"Have you ever fought him before?" Cindra asked Elio curiously.
"Once. We got into a dumb disagreement over some girl we both liked. We were young and stupid. But more importantly, we've trained together, so I know how he operates," Elio said. He got down on one knee with his back to Cassian.
"Cassian emphasizes power over all else; he always has. He's strong-willed, and his attacks are powerful. Any move that I know how to do, he could do it and make a bigger fire. He'll take an aggressive approach and try to overwhelm me. I'll have to try and work around him.
"My biggest advantage is I know more forms than he does. If I can turn his offense against him and tire him out, I can outlast him and take the victory... This isn't going to be easy. We're evenly matched. I just have to capitalize on his weaknesses."
Elio and Cassian both stood up and turned towards each other, standing on opposite sides of the arena. Cindra took several steps back to be safely outside the boundaries. Cassian removed his shoulder gear. Both of them got into their fighting stances.
"Gentleman! Ready... Begin!" Cassian's subordinate shouted, signaling the beginning of the match.
Cassian made the first move, jumping forward and shooting a huge fireball at Elio. Elio stepped forward and began bending his fire, taking as much as he could and spinning it around him. He shot it back at Cassian. Surprised by this, he extinguished the fireball by spreading his hands out.
Elio spun on his right foot, shooting several fire kicks at Cassian. Cassian created a column of fire to absorb the attacks. He spun around and attacked with his other hand, shooting another fireball. Elio slid his foot back and extended one hand out, stopping the fireball and causing it to spread around him.
Cassian ran towards Elio as the fire dissipated. He jumped up and threw a spinning kick at Elio's head. Elio quickly ducked under it, creating two small sticks of fire in his hands. He tried to cut at Cassian's torso, but Cassian quickly backed up and tried to shoot fire into Elio's back.
Elio spun on his foot again and kicked Cassian's hand away. Before he could throw a fire punch, Cassian used his own fire to jump over Elio, shooting several blasts down at him. Elio blocked each one then went for a low-sweeping fire kick.
Cassian hopped over the arcing fire blast, using both feet to shoot another blast at Elio. Elio was able to block it, but he slid backwards from the sheer force of it. Cassian landed on his back and kicked back up to his feet. Elio, still maintaining his balance, made the next offensive move.
He shot one fireball directly at Cassian with one hand. Then with the other, he shot another fireball off to the side and curved his shot towards Cassian's right side. Seeing this, Cassian raised one hand to block Elio's first fireball. Then he raised his other hand up and blocked Elio's second fireball. The fire swirled around him but didn't touch him.
Both Elio and Cassian shot fiery, continuous blasts at each other. The two fires crashed against each other in the middle of the arena, creating a swirling, unstable inferno. As the flames extended outwards, both of them had to protect themselves from being burnt as they advanced back inwards.
Both of them created fire sticks and went in for close combat. Cassian held his fire sticks normally while Elio always went for an inverted grab technique. Cassian tried to stab Elio directly, while Elio was looking to catch him off-guard and cut him.
Cassian threw a backwards kick at Elio's head. Elio caught his foot and tried to sweep his other leg out. Cassian awkwardly hopped into the air, twisting his torso to throw a downwards fire punch. Elio raised his other arm up to block it while at the same time throwing a desperate fire kick.
Both blows connected, causing Elio to tumble backwards away from Cassian. Cassian landed harshly on the ground with a pained grunt. Elio seethed in pain as he got up to one knee. Elio had suffered a burn on his shoulder. Cassian had suffered a burn on the left side of his stomach.
"They really are evenly matched." Cindra realized.
"This fight isn't over! It isn't over until one of us can't stand!" Cassian growled, getting back to his feet. Elio stood up, taking his fighting stance once again.
"Well come on then." He said.
Cassian huffed and shot several rapid fireballs at Elio. Elio swirled his hands around and advanced closer, bending as much of Cassian's fire around him as he could. He shot the fire back at Cassian. But this time Cassian was ready for it and shot fire back at Elio.
Elio slid back in retreat, which allowed Cassian to advance on him. Cassian raised his hand up and went for a fiery downwards chop. Elio ducked underneath it and threw a regular kick, hitting Cassian right in his wound. He growled in pain and jumped backwards.
Elio threw a fire kick at Cassian's head. Cassian ducked under it and swept Elio's foot from underneath him. As Elio landed sideways on the ground, Cassian immediately tried to shoot a fireball down at him. Elio brought his arm up and flicked the fireball away awkwardly.
Twisting his body, Elio shot fire out of his feet to boost him slightly into the air. He knocked Cassian's legs out from under him. Cassian tumbled on top of Elio. Elio tried to chi-block Cassian with a punch to the ribs, but he missed the spot.
Cassian grunted in pain and elbowed Elio in the head. Elio, in a daze, rolled away and got to his feet sloppily. He couldn't see where Cassian was yet, but his knee-jerk reaction was to leap into the air and flip forward.
Cassian shot fire up at Elio. Elio twisted his body and saw the attack coming, so he was able to kick it away. As he landed on the ground, he stumbled as he realized how close he was to the boundary line.
Cassian shot a huge wave of fire at Elio. Elio got into a firm stance and took on the fire, extending his hands out to cut his own path through the attack. He slowly advanced forward, keeping the fire going around him as he got closer.
As Cassian's arms started to tire out, Elio sent the fire that was around him away. He shot several more blasts at Cassian. However, Cassian was still unrelenting. He blocked each attack and countered with his own. Back and forth the two continued to go.
However, both men stopped at the sounds of rumbling in the ground. They looked around to see where the sound was coming from. They both knew exactly what it meant.
"Cassian, jump!" Elio shouted. Both of them leaped high into the air to avoid being imprisoned in coffins of stone. They landed next to each other in the center of the arena and turned to stand back to back.
"Well well, take a look. Two firebenders fighting each other. You men are so disgustingly prideful, you can't even keep yourselves together in one unit." An earthbender taunted. About 6 earthbenders came out and surrounded them.
"Did you plan this?" Cassian asked aside to Elio.
"Really? The earthbenders hate me just as much as they hate you, how would I have planned this?" He pointed out. Cassian grunted.
"That man's the leader of the battalion in this area!" One of the other earthbenders pointed at Cassian.
"Take them both out." The leader ordered.
"Okay, earthbenders first, and then we'll finish this later." Cassian said.
"I can agree to that." Elio said, getting back in his fighting stance.
"If you've got any fancy tricks up your sleeve, now's the time to pull them out." Cassian advised, seeing that the earthbenders were starting their attack.
"I've got a few!" Elio exclaimed.
Elio threw a few fire kicks at the earthbenders on his side. He then brought his hands around in circles, creating a huge ring of fire around them. He extended it outwards, creating an arcing wall of fire that shot out in all directions.
One earthbender sank under the ground and popped up in front of Cassian. Cassian shot several fireballs at him. The earthbender created a wall and hid behind it. Cassian jumped over the wall and grabbed the top of it, landing on top of the earthbender and kicking him face-first into his own wall.
"Elio, I got your back!" Cindra shouted, taking her bending water out of her pouch. She snapped her water whip at the nearest earthbender, making everyone realize that they had a third opponent to deal with.
Elio swung his hands across his body several times, shooting out several powerful arcing shots to keep Cindra protected. He then jumped up and spun in the air, throwing one more arcing shot with extra force using a downwards kick.
One of the earthbenders brought a wall up to protect himself, but the wall was chipped away with each arcing shot. The final one broke through the wall and sent him flying back into one of the buildings on the side of the road.
Another earthbender shot boulders at Elio. Elio looked behind him and saw that Cassian was busy, so he was free to sidestep the attacks. While the earthbender was busy trying to hit Elio, Cindra reached out and froze water around his head. She used her bending to send his head crashing hard into the ground.
Meanwhile, Cassian was caught between two earthbenders. He quickly shot fireballs back and forth, using both his hands and feet to stay on the offensive while also avoiding both earthbenders' attacks. He shot a huge fireball into one earthbender that sent the man flying back.
However, the second earthbender quickly stomped on the ground, burying Cassian's body in the ground. Only his head remained above ground. The earthbender quickly created a boulder, ready to crush Cassian's head. Seeing this, Elio only had a few seconds to react.
"Cassian!" He shouted. He used his firebending to jump and fly forward. He flipped forward in a half-circle, planting his feet on the side of the boulder. He kicked it out from above Cassian's head just before it would've crushed him. Elio flipped backwards and landed on his feet.
Elio quickly came to Cassian's defense, sliding in front of him and jumping up to throw a spinning fire kick. The earthbender ducked under it and attempted to punch him in the chest. Elio swiped his arm away and used his chi-blocking to immobilize the earthbender with a few quick jabs to his arm and torso.
Meanwhile, Cindra was fighting the last earthbender. She used her bending water to freeze his leg before he could step forward. The earthbender attempted to bend a boulder out of the ground, so Cindra froze his hands together.
"Better luck next time!" Cindra said, using the last of her water to create a thick glove of ice around her own hands. She jumped up and smashed her hands into the side of the earthbender's head, knocking him down and breaking her own ice.
"Ow!" Cindra growled, rubbing her hands together. She looked back and saw that they had won.
"Look at you, Elio. We could've made an amazing team together. But you're throwing it all away." Cassian said, sounding genuinely disappointed and saddened. Elio looked back at him and sighed.
"I'm sorry, brother. But it was never gonna happen." He said honestly, leaving him stuck in the ground while he ran back to Cindra.
"Now's our chance, Elio! Let's grab our stuff and get out of here!" She urged him. Elio nodded in agreement, grabbing the clothes that he had left on his side of the arena.
"I agree, let's go! Wait... Where is the man that was with Cassian?" He realized.
"He's... He's probably running back to get backup! We should hurry!" She shouted.
Elio quickly strapped his boots on and tied the remainder of his clothes around his waist. The two of them went running back towards the camp only to see that the rest of Cassian's men were already being rounded up. Thinking quickly, Elio took charge.
"Go around and get our stuff! I'll draw their attention and grab us a ride!" Elio instructed.
"Okay! Be careful!" Cindra said before splitting off from him.
Elio took in a deep breath and quickened his pace, sprinting into the camp. As the men were gathering together, he rushed past them and started setting random tents on fire. Some of the men reacted and started shooting fireballs at him, but he was already far away enough to ignore them.
Cindra worked around and sneaked into Cassian's tent. She gathered up all of her things as quickly as she could, pulling the straps of their bags over her shoulders. She looked back and saw a bottle sitting on Cassian's table. She reached out to it. The bottle shattered as she bent its contents into her water pouch.
"Does the Fire Nation keep all their water in fancy bottles?" Cindra wondered aloud.
As she turned around, two Fire Nation men entered into the tent. She quickly bent the water back out, splashing them both in the face. She pulled out Elio's staff. She whacked one in the top of his helmet and tripped the legs out from under the other soldier.
Elio looked around frantically until he found what he was looking for: the herd of komodo rhinos. He rushed to one and jumped on top of it. It immediately squawked loudly and tried to buck him off. However, he took control of the reins.
"Woah woah woah!" He exclaimed as he got it under control. He tried to remember his riding lessons from years ago. However, he was also in a rush. He managed to get it to stop bucking, and he directed it to run back towards Cassian's tent.
"He's stealing our rhino!" One of the men shouted.
Elio rode over to Cassian's tent, where he saw Cindra making her way out with their stuff. He called out to her to get her attention. The komodo rhino skidded to a stop at his direction, and she hurriedly climbed on top.
"Do you know how to ride one of these?" Cindra asked.
"Kind of! Hold on tight!" He told her. He flicked the reins again and the komodo rhino took off running again.
As they turned and went back across the tent again, fireballs were shot directly at them. Elio let go of the reins briefly and firebent with both hands to keep them from being hit. Once they were safely across, Elio turned back towards the herd of komodo rhinos.
He saw that some of the soldiers were mounting their own in order to chase after them. Elio shot a heavy amount of fire with one hand, burning the fencing around the animals. This caused them to retreat cautiously and throw off some of the riders.
"Nice!" Cindra exclaimed. Elio flicked the reins of the komodo rhino once more, and soon they had put a safe distance between them and the camp.
"That was a close one." She commented once they were able to relax.
"About as close as they come," Elio agreed. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. What about you? Do you want me to heal that burn on your shoulder?" She offered.
"If you can do it while we're riding, sure." He answered. Cindra nodded, beginning to waterbend.
"How do you feel after facing Cassian like that?" She asked. Elio sighed.
"I get a bad feeling it won't be the last time. But for now, let's just be glad we got out of there." He answered seriously. Cindra's lip tugged to one side, silently in agreement with him.
Cindra bent the remaining water in her pouch around her hands. She reached around Elio's shoulders and placed her hands over his wound. As soon as the liquid made contact, he immediately seethed sharply in pain.
"Owww! What is that?!" He hissed.
"Does it hurt?!"
"Yeah it hurts! It didn't sting when you healed me before!" He pointed out. Cindra was confused for a moment.
"Oh! I got this water from a bottle in Cassian's tent!" She remembered.
"A bottle?"
"Yeah. It was a dark bottle." She answered.
"That's not water, Cindra, that's alcohol!" He realized.
"Ohh that explains it! Well, just hold still and this will be over soon." She said, resuming her healing. He hissed in pain again.
"Ow! Cindra!" He growled. Cindra tried not to crack a smile...
