Wandering Firebender

Sixty Four: Sky Bison

For some odd reason, there was a stir being raised up in the Northern Water Tribe.

Cindra noticed it while she was eating lunch, taking a break from her training. She saw a number of people starting to run or walk in a hurry towards the docks. She looked around oddly, wondering what was going on. She was about to get up and investigate herself...

But then her best friend, Tara, suddenly ran up to her, yanking her arm and urging her to get to her feet.

"Cindra! Cindra, you gotta come now! Get up!" Tara said emphatically. Cindra almost dropped her food as she slid out of her chair and stood up.

"What's going on, Tara? Everybody's running." She asked.

"It's the Avatar! He's here! He just arrived on his sky bison! We gotta come see!" She said. Cindra's eyes widened.

"The Avatar?! Here?! Sky bison?!" Cindra started running to follow the crowd, "We gotta go see!"

"That's what I said!" Tara said with a laugh, rushing to stay next to Cindra.

"The Avatar? Here? Why?" Cindra wondered to herself as she made her way towards the dock nearest to the front wall. Unlike Elio, she'd never had the privilege of even seeing the Avatar before. She briefly imagined herself bringing him up to see if the Avatar would remember him, but then again, it's not like she would even get the chance to speak to the Avatar himself.

When she got to the dock, a crowd was already gathering all around the Avatar's large sky bison. Cindra's eyes widened in awe at the sight of the animal. It was like 2-3 times her size! She and Tara shuffled through the crowd as much as they could to try and get a good view.

"That's the Avatar, right? Yeah, I see him!"

"I don't remember seeing that thing last time! That bison is huge!"

"Aang! Katara! Do you remember me?!"

Cindra could hear people in the crowd talking amongst themselves while others were calling out to the Avatar. Finally, Cindra was able to get to the front, just in time for the Avatar to stand up on the head of his sky bison and address the crowd.

"Hey, everyone! It's good to see you all again!" He said with a smile, waving to everyone. After that, a Water Tribe girl stood up; she was standing on the bison's back on top of its saddle.

"It's good to see you all, but we won't be able to stay very long! We're looking for Cindra! Does anyone know where Cindra is?" She asked.

The crowd fell silent. Cindra's face went pale and she froze in place. That was her name that they'd just called, right? She wasn't hearing things, right?

They were looking for her?

Cindra felt Tara's hand on her back pushing her forward until she'd stepped out from the crowd. Still clutching her food in her hand, Cindra stood there dumbfounded. The Avatar quickly picked her out and approached her.

"Hey! Are you Cindra?" He asked.

"U-Uh...yeah. Are you...the Avatar?" She asked slowly.

"Yep! My name's Aang! And this is my, uh...this is Katara!" He introduced both himself and the Water Tribe girl with him. Both names sounded familiar to Cindra, but she was still processing the fact that the Avatar was standing right in front of her.

"You're so young." Cindra said in surprise. Aang just chuckled at this.

"We came here to pick you up. Elio asked for you." Katara spoke up.

"Elio! He asked you to come and get me?!" She exclaimed.

"Yep! We're supposed to meet up with him in Ba Sing Se." Aang said.

"We didn't catch you at a bad time, did we? I guess we should've sent a letter or something earlier." Katara realized. However, Cindra shook her head.

"No no, it's fine! I'll talk to my folks! I'll be right back! Don't go anywhere!" She said, holding a finger up before turning around and running back home.

"We won't!" Aang replied with a laugh.

Cindra had never ran home so fast in her life. She barely had time to process the conversation she'd just had before she was at the front door of her house. Luckily, her father was there, bringing a large sack into the house. He stopped when he heard his daughter frantically calling for him.

"Dad! Dad!" Cindra shouted before stopping. She stopped and took a moment to catch her breath, leaning forward with her hands on her knees. Her father looked down at her in surprise.

"Cindra? Are you alright?"

"Yeah...huff...father, the Avatar is here! I just spoke with him. He says I need to come with him to Ba Sing Se!" She explained quickly.

"The Avatar?! Are you sure?" He asked. Cindra quickly nodded her head.

"Yes, I saw him! His sky bison is at the dock right now!" She exclaimed, pointing back in the direction she had just come from.

"I see...did he say what for?"

"Something to do with Elio." She answered. Kawan nodded and thought about this for a moment.

"If the Avatar needs you, dear, then you should go right away." He said. Cindra swallowed and nodded.

"Is everyone inside?" She asked.

"Your mother is. I'm not sure where Ansel is. You should definitely find him before you go."

"I will...thank you, dad." She gave her father a tight hug. Kawan wrapped his arms around his daughter and held her for a few moments before letting her go.

"I'm very proud of you, daughter...you should hurry. You don't want to keep the Avatar waiting too long now." Kawan said with a sad little chuckle. Cindra nodded and smiled gently.

"Yeah, I'll hurry up. I'll be sure to write you the first chance I get. I promise," She said, giving him another hug. "I love you, dad."

"I love you too, Cindra."

Cindra let go of her father and ran into the house. She immediately found her mother in the living room relaxing. She ran over to her mother and gave her a hug as well.

"I have to go, mom." She said.

"Go? Go where, honey?" She asked, hugging her daughter back in confusion.

"The Avatar is here," Kawan answered, coming in through the door. "It seems that he as well as Elio need her help. They're waiting for her right now." He explained for her.

"Oh...oh! My goodness!" Cari exclaimed as the realization hit her all at once. She hugged her daughter tighter, "They're waiting for her right now? She has to leave immediately?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, mom. I didn't know they were coming." Cindra quickly apologized.

"No, no, it's alright. You do what you have to do, honey...oh! You should go and see Ansel before you go too!"

"Yeah, I will! Do you know where he is?"

"No, but he shouldn't be far." Cari answered.

"Okay. Let me get packed up and I'll find him before I leave. The Avatar's waiting for me at the docks if you want to see me off there!" Cindra informed them.

"We'll wait for you to get packed and then come with you." Kawan said.

"Okay!" Cindra agreed.

She rushed into her room and immediately began packing her things, taking her folded clothes and shoving them into her travel pack. Next she took some of her personal belongings and placed them between her clothes. Finally, she took a few moments to make sure she had everything she thought she might need before closing up her pack.

She was about to put her pack on and leave her room when her eyes drifted toward her nightstand. Her necklace was sitting on top of it; the one that Elio had given to her. The thought of seeing him again so soon made her excited and nervous...

She took the necklace and slid it into her pocket before leaving the house with her parents.

On the way back to the docks, they asked around for where Ansel was. However, no one knew the answer. But by the time they got back to where the crowd was still gathered around, they were able to find him. Ansel was actually among those in the crowd observing the sky bison.

"Ansel! Ansel, c'mere!" Cindra called out to her younger brother. He turned towards her and quickly ran over when he realized that the whole family was there.

"You heard about the Avatar being here too?" He asked.

"Actually, they're here for me," Cindra said. "Elio sent them to pick me up. I'm not sure for what, but I guess I gotta go now." She explained. Ansel's eyes widened in surprise.

"Wow. That's sudden...um, okay. Well, please be careful out there." He said.

"I will," Cindra nodded and gave her brother a hug. "Take care of mom and dad while I'm gone, okay?"

"Of course, of course...I guess now I'll have to do all of the household chores again." Ansel commented with a sigh and a little chuckle.

"Aww!" Cindra giggled and hugged him tighter. "Love you."

"Love you too. Be safe." Ansel said, returning the hug and patting her on the back before letting her go. Cindra resisted the urge to get teary-eyed as she looked at her family. She took in a breath.

"Well, I'm off. Love you!" She said again, waving to her family before running over to Aang and Katara. Katara was chatting with the healing instructor while Aang was playing with a group of kids.

"Okay! I'm ready to go!" She said to them.

"Oh wow! That was fast!" Aang said with a laugh, "Next time, I'll show you some of my snowbending tricks, okay?" He said to the kids before using his airbending to hop onto Appa's head and grab the reins.

"Here, let me help you get your stuff in." Katara said to Cindra, helping her climb up onto the bison's back.

"Oh thank you!" She said appreciatively. Katara took Cindra's pack and secured it within a net attached to the back of the saddle.

"Goodbye everyone! I'll miss you!" Cindra waved to her people with a smile.

"We promise we'll stay longer next time!" Katara said to the crowd, waving goodbye before speaking just to Cindra, "This is gonna feel a little weird, so you might want to hold on to the side here." She advised.

"Oh o-okay." Cindra nodded, grabbing onto the side of the saddle like she was told.

"Alright, let's go! Appa, yip yip!" Aang called out, flicking the reins.

Cindra immediately shifted in surprise, feeling a lurch underneath her as Appa started to rise up into the air. She peeked over the edge of the saddle and watched as the ground beneath her quickly got further and further away. With a quick turn, Aang pointed Appa away from the Northern Water Tribe and they flew off.

"Ohh gosh!" Cindra exclaimed in discomfort, clinging tighter to the saddle. Katara moved over to sit with her and reassure her. Cindra was surprised to see how comfortable she was on the back of this flying animal.

"You get used to it. It'll feel weird for awhile, but then you adjust. Just try to relax, alright?" Katara said. Cindra nodded and tried to calm herself by taking a few deep breaths.

"Yeah...um, what was your name again?" Cindra asked, trying to get her mind off of the feelings of nausea that were starting to creep in.

"My name is Katara. It's nice to meet you, Cindra." She said with a smile, offering a handshake. Cindra shook hands with her.

"Nice to meet you too, Katara...wait, aren't you the Katara? The one that stood up in front of the council and got them to allow girls to be trained?" She asked.

"Oh! Heheh, yeah, that was me," Katara chuckled a little in embarrassment, rubbing the back of her head. "I was pretty upset, obviously. Maybe I acted out a bit, but I'm glad I did it. And I'm glad it made a difference."

"It made a huge difference! Especially for me! Not being allowed to do anything with my waterbending besides healing drove me crazy! It was the reason why I left home in the first place." She said.

"You left home?" Aang asked, looking back over his shoulder.

"Yeah...I was tired of feeling useless. I was going to go to the Southern Water Tribe and learn from you guys." She said, gesturing to Katara.

"I see...well, it wouldn't have helped much. There are no waterbenders in the Southern Water Tribe except me. I'm the last one." She revealed.

"What?!" Cindra's eyes widened.

"The others were taken away by the Southern Raiders – they were Fire Nation." She explained.

"Just like the sieges here..." Cindra thought aloud. For a brief moment, she felt angry towards the Fire Nation again. But then she remembered Elio, and her feelings became a little more conflicted.

"Boy, am I glad those days are over." Aang said, looking to lift the mood of the conversation up.

"Yeah, me too. So, going back just a bit, you said that you left home to come to the Southern Water Tribe and learn waterbending. Right?" Katara asked, summarizing everything Cindra had just said.

"Yes," Cindra nodded. "That's how I ended up meeting Elio...oh you know what, he did tell me about you!" She remembered and pointed at Katara. "It's just been so long, I forgot."

"Oh yeah? It's been a long time since we met Elio too. We ran into him one time very soon after we had left the South Pole. Do you remember, Aang?" Katara asked him.

"Hm? Oh yeah! We saved him from those earthbenders, I remember. He was really nice to us. He bought us some supplies I think." He recalled.

"Really? He did mention it before, but he didn't get into details. That's so cool that you know him though!" Cindra said.

"Yeah. How did you two meet? I'm sure it must've been interesting, him being a firebender and you being a waterbender." Katara presumed.

"Yeah it was. I was traveling south obviously and I had to go through this tunnel. Elio just so happened to be going through there too, and that's how we met. Obviously a bunch of stuff happened since then, but that's how it started.

"Man...it's really been a year since that happened? That's crazy." She thought aloud, as if just now realizing how much has happened in such a short period of time. From her perspective, it didn't feel like it had been that long.

"Sounds like you two went through a lot together. How long were you traveling together?" Katara asked curiously.

"It was like 2 months," Cindra answered. "We were headed to Ba Sing Se, but of course we ran into all kinds of trouble on the way there." She commented with a chuckle.

"Sounds pretty similar to us with Aang." Katara said with a giggle, smiling in Aang's direction.

"Yeah. But real quick, I just really wanna thank you for what you did back home. When I finally did come back, I got to finally train the way I've always wanted, and so did my friends. I'm almost, almost, a waterbending master now, and it's all thanks to what you did." Cindra said sincerely.

"That's so great! I'm happy for you, Cindra. It sounds like you've really gotten what you wanted then." Katara said with a smile. Cindra nodded and smiled in return.

"I really did...there's nothing I hate more than feeling helpless in a bad situation. When the Fire Nation attacked us, I was able to do everything I could to protect my home and the people I love. I don't wanna think about what might've happened if you hadn't made that change." Cindra said, shaking her head.

"You should be proud then, Cindra," Katara said with a smile. "And hey, from one waterbending master to another, if you ever needs tips or any help figuring out a technique or something, I'd be happy to share what I know." She offered.

"Really?! I'd love that!" Cindra agreed excitedly.

"Katara's a great teacher! She sure taught me a lot." Aang said with a chuckle. Cindra giggled at this then her eyes widened when she realized what he had just said.

"You taught the Avatar waterbending?!" She exclaimed in surprise.

"Haha! That might be giving me a little too much credit. I'd say we taught each other." Katara said, smiling in Aang's direction again.

"Yeah, we did, didn't we?" Aang agreed, smiling back at her. Cindra glanced back and forth between them and nodded in approval.

"That's really sweet...please, Katara, if you ever have time and-and if it isn't too much trouble-"

"I'd be glad to. We'll figure out something soon. I promise." Katara agreed with a kind smile. Cindra smiled back and nodded again, feeling a swell of pride and excitement stirring up in her.

"I can't wait!" She said, sitting back more comfortably, "So, um, where are we going again?" She asked.

"We're headed to Ba Sing Se!" Aang answered, "We're supposed to meet up with Elio. I'm not sure where...but I'm sure we'll figure it out!" He said optimistically.

"Right! I've heard that Ba Sing Se is a beautiful city. I never actually got to see it for myself though. Did Elio say why we needed to go there?" Cindra asked.

"Zuko told him to go there to deliver relief supplies, and to talk to the Earth King. Now that the Earth King is back on the throne, Zuko wants to establish good relations between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. It's been a very long time since there was any peace between them." Katara explained.

"Whoa whoa wait, back up a second. Elio is talking to the Earth King? And Zuko, where have I heard that name before?" Cindra asked.

"Zuko's our friend! And the new Fire Lord." Aang answered.

"Oh! Right, because you defeated the old one," Cindra said with a weird chuckle. "What was that like, by the way? It had to be scary."

"It was terrifying...but I'm glad I don't have to do it again!"

"Yeah, true! Thank you for that, Avatar." She said appreciatively.

"Haha, my name's Aang. Just call me Aang, okay?" He said with a smile.

"Okay," She nodded. "So Elio is working with the new Fire Lord now?" She asked.

"Yep! I think he's like a special agent or something. He was wearing this really fancy uniform the last time we saw him." Aang answered.

"A special agent?! What?! What does that even mean?!"

"Well I guess you can ask him that when you see him." Katara answered with a laugh.

"Heh, yeah, I definitely wanna hear about it from him." She said with a chuckle, resting her arm up on the saddle.

"It should take us at most a couple days to get to Ba Sing Se. We'll try to get you there as fast as possible though so we can make sure you meet up with him in the city." Katara said.

"Okay. Thank you." Cindra said with a nod.

She took in a deep breath. She had been given a lot of information to take in, and it was going to take some time to process it all. Now she was especially curious to see Elio and hear about his new position. She couldn't even fully fathom yet the gravity of what she was being swept up into.

It was definitely enough to keep her mind off her fear of flying...