Once again, an Avatar Spirit Drabble contest entry, listed as a general runner-up. The criteria this time was...

Theme - Inhibitions
Criteria:
Spelling and Grammar
Interpretation
Creativity

For the record, the odd switching of tense is deliberate.



I Got Over It

"You have to do it."

That's what she said, and I never want to make her mad, but it isn't right. Like stretching the wrong way, it would hurt and then I couldn't move the way I wanted to move and it would hurt some more and if I was doing it really wrong the hurt wouldn't stop even after I did, and then the doctor would have to come and someone would finally pay attention to me.

Broken.

I told her that my hands were tiny and if I did it they would break. People are soft but my hands can't even hold onto the turtleducks when I grab them out of the water and they quack quack quack and wiggle their little flipper feet and grab my fingers with their beaks. My fingers hurt even from a bite from a little turtleduck so how can I use them to hit like that and not break them forever?

I have lots of other reasons why I shouldn't do it but she shushed before I could say them. "It won't hurt. And if you don't, you'll make me mad, and then I'll have to hurt you. Do you think a little punch will hurt more than you'll make me hurt you?"

Azula can make me hurt really bad when she's mad. She's my friend and doesn't want to hurt me but there's something wrong with her kind of like Mai and sometimes they think they have to hurt people. I don't because it makes me sad when other people hurt and I think that's why I really don't want to do it. But Azula isn't bad! She's my friend and when I told what's really wrong she did her best to help me and didn't hurt me at all. She told me how to really get mad at the person I have to do it to. "Pretend they pushed you. Or took your apple. Maybe they're ugly. They're ugly and you don't like them, and you want them to go away and stop bothering you, and the way to make them leave is to hit them as hard as you can lots of times."

I wonder what will happen if I get so mad I can't hit them right. If I hit them right it will hurt and they won't be able to bend or move or make their life move through their body right, but they can get better from that and if I get mad and hit them wrong maybe they won't get better and maybe they'll die. I told that to Azula but she just laughed. "You're not that strong. It's too bad, because that would be really neat. Like my Firebending."

Die.

I really really tried my best and did like Azula said. I cried and cried and pretended I hurt myself but Azula knew I really didn't and why I was really crying. She helped me practice more and more and after a while I didn't cry. Azula was a really good teacher. I could turn my angry on and off like Azula did with candles, and one time I made myself mad enough that I hit Mai. She was surprised and started crying but I was mad enough that I didn't care. Later I hugged her and said sorry and cried, but she said it was okay and said she didn't care.

She said.

By the time I'm taller than the table I don't care anymore. I hit them and they go down but it doesn't hurt me and I know it hurts them but they'll move again in an hour and in a few days they won't be sore. It's different than when I was little and I hit people for practice. They swing swords and staffs and throw ice and rocks and wouldn't cry if I fell and fell and fell. I just hit people, and try not to hurt them too bad.

That's what Azula and Mai are for.

Azula helps you be who you really are.

I never killed anyone.

Azula's my friend.

END