"Thanks for coming, guys."
Aang let the cool breeze from atop of the school roof grace him out of his nervousness. An Earthbending Football game was happening at full-swing right in the distant field, and Aang had easily spotted Toph's miniature form among the Praying Mantis players. He was just sad he couldn't cheer her on with the other kids, watching them take on the brown and gray-uniformed masses of Foggy Swamp High School.
Instead, the young Avatar-in-Training stood in the center of a circle full of familiar faces, sitting around him on the school roof in their own meditative styles, just as he had instructed earlier.
"Hey, whatever gets me out of taking Jeong Jeong make-up exam," Loung side-commented, by which Suganya just shut her eyes skeptically. The kid with dreadlocks glancing over to Xai in the circle. "Where's your little brother?"
Xai threw a grunt at him, resting his chin with his head. "He's taking Shaolin lessons at this private academy after school, now. Man... I wish I had that excuse."
On Ji had her eyes to her toes, feeling somewhat uncomfortable about the sulky kid sitting across from her in the circle. Maybe it was because his scarred head hadn't properly healed into a natural skin tone… and because his eyes were thinning as if he were going through a permanent migraine. Or maybe it was just because he was the only kid in the circle who'd been scarred visibly from their last reunion. This was really weird.
It was the only period of the day that Aang could see them together, and after a careful talk with Avatar Roku the day before, he seemed to know why he needed this time with them. Time was a very precious thing, all of a sudden, as the student elections for the school was happening only less than a month from now.
"Um… so before I talk about the workshop, I just wanted to tell you some news," Aang braced himself. "I talked to Principal Roku."
"Wait, he's here?" Xai didn't hold his excitement back, and Aang flinched before turning his head to him.
"No!" Aang gestured for him to calm down. "He's meeting with the Earth King right now… something about Fire Lord Azulon trying to bust through the Ba Sing Se wall."
"Hold on a minute," Suganya raised a full eyebrow with makeup, her green eyes almost imitating the green grass of the courtyards below them. "Then how did he get in touch with you? Vice Principal Zhao never shares that kind of information… and messenger hawks take weeks to get from Ba Sing Se."
"It happened when I fell into a dizzy spell the other day." Aang could feel lumps in his throat as he gulped an explanation. "He… spoke to me."
The staring was inevitable, and only On Ji seemed to keep her eyes a decent size as Aang scanned the circle of kids around him. By everyone else's standards, they might as well have been listening to a giant purple platypus bear on its hind legs
Aang just shook his head, trying to brush the word 'freak' from his mind as he kept talking.
"He's going to get here as soon as he can, and he wants the airbenders to watch out for the students just like the teachers do. I thought… maybe it would help if you learned about…Listening."
"Listening!?"
Xai grit his teeth as he said the word, clearly catching its inner-meaning by the way his neck seemed to be popping veins in front of everyone.
As taken-aback as she was, On Ji looked at him curiously. "You know about it?"
"Of course I know about it!" Xai responded in a flustered voice, moving himself a few inches out of the circle with a slight look of fear in his eyes. "It nearly drove my dad crazy… hearing all these voices and shit… he did counseling for years to get out of that mental illness he had."
"It's not an illness," Aang was defensive but he tried to sound reasonable, remembering how Monk Gyatso would deal with any overbearing situation at the Temple. "It's supposed to be a meditative, peaceful airbending technique."
"Peaceful, my ass!" Xai's vulgarity was making Brei An flinch out of her meditative pose like a clumsy mess. "I already got my head burnt to a crisp trying to deal with you guys…I'm not gonna crush whatever brain cells I have for this mumbo-jumbo."
"Xai, quit it." Suganya threw back as the badly-scarred boy was getting up from the ground across from him. "You're not the only one who got hurt back there. If Principal Roku wants us to look after the school, we gotta work as a team to make sure other kids don't get hurt by Azula!"
Seeing how Suganya didn't take the Fire Nation brat's mannerisms so sensitively, Aang could finally let his stomach tighten to speak once again.
"Listening is the only safe way we can talk with one another," Aang explained himself further in the circle, trying to not sound so hard-pressed to Xai. "We can locate anybody at Praying Mantis who is in trouble."
"So, we'll be like the school's safety patrol," Loung brushed a hand to his dreads, "but better?"
Brei An's pale, freckled hands were fumbling at her skirt fabric nervously. "I don't know if I want to read other people's minds," she said in her fragile voice of uncertainty.
"It's nothing like that," Aang explained. "Listening deals with understanding a person's inner emotional self. You'll be 'seeing' what they're going through, and you can find out if somebody's in trouble."
"Or if somebody's about to start trouble," On Ji pointed out cleverly, and Aang exchanged a small nod to her.
"All airbenders have the ability to Listen, but I want us to be able to Speak to each other, first." The young boy with the blue arrow glanced at each of their faces, taking the most time with Xai. "That way we can communicate without anyone else knowing about it."
Aang brought himself back to a sitting position in the center, already hearing the distant cheers of the Earthbending Football game commencing in the field. The airbenders around him kept their sitting poses graceful and professional, with Xai grunting and taking a few seconds longer. Suganya tried to ignore Xai's sullen faces, watching Loung suddenly beam up.
"So that's why we're meeting here! So we can try and tune out the Football noise!" The kid's dreadlocks practically sprung with excitement, and Brei An shyly closed her eyes next to him.
"Genius, Loung. Pure genius," Xai muttered, shutting his eyes in annoyance.
"Anyway," Aang tried not to chuckle as he closed his own eyes, "the noise is the tricky part. Try to block every single voice you hear from your mind, and concentrate on Speaking to one person's mind. Suganya, pair up with Loung. Xai, you'll be with Brei An."
The timid girl gazed awkwardly back to her skirt at the sound of her name, but Aang just moved his eyes to On Ji, as she was the only one without a partner. It just seemed natural that this quiet-yet-determined little girl would stare back to her friend, as if accepting to be his partner with nothing but a nod to the head.
"Okay," Aang continued his lesson with all the formality he could muster, blocking the outer sounds of the game. "Now everyone take breath, close your eyes... and let the open air take every single thought from your head. Clear your mind."
"Um, would it be okay if I hummed a song?" Brei An's voice shyly intruded the circle, and everyone opened their eyes oddly to her. "I... I always like to sing while I meditate."
Loung snorted a laugh, but On Ji elbowed him at the side to stop.
"Sure," Aang shrugged, looking over to Brei An in a smile. On Ji was delighted, too, realizing how these supposed strangers were now becoming more comfortable in their own skin.
"Yue. Hey... wait up."
It was half-time in the Earthbending Football game, and Sokka was only trying to look for Suki among the many lovely-painted Kyoshi faces that were dancing out in the field to honor their past Avatar and woman of the Earth. He had managed to talk to Suki just once since that dreadful incident with the letter, but even in that short minute they'd crossed paths between classes one day... he could tell the sparkle in her green eyes were gone. The letter had wounded her, and Sokka's throat had almost dried up, unable to get a full sentence in. He couldn't even remember what he'd said besides 'I'll explain everything, I swear.'
He knew that wasn't what Suki wanted to hear... and it made him feel even worse.
All that Sokka wanted to do was have more than a minute with Suki, and not feel like she was deliberately avoiding him. Saying what he felt was becoming much harder than he realized, but Sokka knew that the Earthbending football game was a perfect time to run into Suki.
But he'd never, ever planned to see the familiar waterbender with delicately white hair pass him among the spectators, watching her leave the game early in her water tennis gear. She must've been heading out for a practice... and Sokka felt goosebumps slowly form in the back of his knees as the pretty girl turned to wave at him.
This was wrong. This was going to look really, really bad... but Sokka knew that if he didn't set things straight with Yue by the end of that afternoon, he'd regret it. And it was becoming very awkward working with Suki in OmaShu rehearsals, without exchanging a single word. The play wasn't for another month!
Yue stopped in her tracks, and turned to where Sokka's voice had called for her.
"I... um... I gotta talk to you."
The Watertribe princess widened her blue eyes all too quickly. "What's wrong? Is Katara alright?"
"Yeah, yeah. She's fine... but, um..." Sokka stared awkwardly towards the football field, noting how the girls were almost finishing the routine, with the Praying Mantis cheerleaders lining up to take their positions. One look at their head cheerleader - the pink social butterfly named Ty Lee - made Sokka almost cringe back towards Yue. "Could... could we maybe talk in Coach Bumi's Earth Rumbling court?"
Yue just stared at him oddly, as she'd been lucky enough play in that arena only once in her entire stay at Praying Mantis... and did not intend to break her arm a second time just for fun.
"Or we can just talk down the tunnel. I just really need you in private," Sokka scratched his head nervously and skimmed through the books into his messenger bag as a habit, tugging at Yue's sleeve to get her going a certain way.
"Sure. Okay," the girl's tranquil voice, not wanting to give this boy more stress than he already had. They both walked away from the grand Earthbending Football field, away from all the cheers and voices, down a stone tunnel that plummeted into the ground... the only entrance to Coach Bumi's masterpiece of an arena.
The green crystals that popped out of the rock every few yards eventually became the only source of light, and Sokka made sure than he was at least a foot away from Yue as they walked together. This was becoming really strange.
"Sokka? I think we're okay, now," Yue assured to him by the darkness of the tunnel and the entrance of light that was at least a quarter of a football-field away. She felt her bare legs shaking from that cold enclosed space, but refused to express that it was his fault, as the boy turned to look at her finally. "What did you want to say to me?"
"Yue... I mean, Princess Yue..." Sokka frowned, hating the way he was stalling so much. He grabbed hold of his bag tighter, feeling like his toes were suddenly becoming numb. His heart skipped a beat. "Oh my God."
"What?" Her voice approached him, concerned and confused. "What is it?"
"This is... this is exactly how it happened," Sokka muttered to himself, scratching his wolf-tail as he looked up at the high ceiling of the tunnel, mesmerized.
"How what happened?" The girl turned a full circle to try and answer her own question, but all she could see was rock and shadows, and small hints of crystal. "Sokka, you're not making any sense."
"In my dream!" Sokka's voice cracked, and his eyes rose like saucers as he looked back at Princess Yue, as if she were no less than an untouchable, beautiful spirit. Perhaps even the entrancing replica of the Moon Spirit herself. "We met in this really dark tunnel... and...."
"Sokka," Yue's voice faded as she stared at him, terrified by the way Sokka's eyes were meeting hers all of a sudden. "You're scaring me."
"...and we kissed."
"We what?" The girl immediately took a step back, keeping her entire body close from the great rush of coldness that went through her. It was like this familiar face... this silly, brainy brother of her waterbending team-mate... had suddenly transformed into a stranger.
"But... you disappeared. It's like you turned into thin air the moment I... I tried to hold you." Sokka looked elsewhere, noticing the fear in Yue's eyes as she crossed her arms uncomfortably. His voice had soon calmed down. "And then I woke up."
The two of them kept a short distance between them, letting Sokka's next few words make a slight echo along the walls of the tunnel.
"That's why I couldn't stop thinking about you."
Yue just stared out towards the entrance light, feeling like it could relieve her from the awful shivering and nervousness she was enduring in her bare legs. For some reason, however, the girl did not feel afraid of the boy who'd just poured these cryptic feelings out of his heart. Even if it hadbeen just a dream, Yue felt the intensity in his stance, in his frowning face... like he'd been battling these ideas... a possibility of them... for much longer than he anticipated.
The princess could do nothing else but breathe the cold air that was making this situation more and more awkward by the second.
"Sokka, are you trying to say..." Her voice was calm. Fragile, but frightened. A small hint of green was tinted in her blue eyes as she looked back to him. "... that you're in love with me?"
"Princess--"
"Yue," she corrected, narrowing her eyes towards him. "My name is Yue, Sokka. You are my friend... a good friend... just as much as Katara. Every winter solstice, you would visit me up in the North, and we would all play and throw snowballs before the Grand Supper... remember?"
She took a small breath, debating whether or not to approach her classmate in the darkness. Something in her mind told her to keep still. To not encourage the boy from making any rash decisions at the moment.
"I have always been your friend."
Sokka heard the voice of that delicate, yet very bold girl echo along the walls of the tunnel... almost not blinking as he felt the intensity of her spoken mind. He could barely remember how to breathe as he stared at Yue... slowly recollecting the faint images of her as a simple child, and how much fun he, Katara, and countless other Southern kids brought to this girl's lonely life.
It was the reason she had fought so hard against the schooling traditions of the North, in order that she could study abroad at Praying Mantis High.
The watertribesman sighed, smiling over to this willful princess as if through a whole new light. No... she wasn't just a Princess, nor would she ever be an untouchable spirit that could fade out of grasp unexpectedly. The dream... and the inevitable feelings carried by it... was only supposed to be just that. A dream. And it would always remain in the same place, as fragile as dust.
But Sokka didn't mind. He greatly preferred having her as a friend, anyway.
"I think I get it, now," Sokka grinned goofily out of his awkwardness, then lunged forward to hug the girl without any hesitation. She yelped but warmed up to the boy's arms soon after, knowing they had finally seen eye-to-eye.
Yue was about to say something else... but then a voice from the far entrance froze her once again. It was faint, but she looked over to see not just one soft-toned silhouette... but four of them descending into the tunnel.
Sokka looked over that way as well, puzzled. Why would students want practice Earth Rumbling so early in the year, with the season being in the summer?
But one distant velvety voice soon came into existence. A voice that both Sokka and Yue knew all too well... along with a couple of henchmen behind her, and the image of someone being pushed forcefully for some sort of questioning. They were heading into the tunnel fast.
"Crap!" Sokka exclaimed, reaching to tug at his wolf-tail in a panic. "Azula chose this place for her secret interrogation facility!? She's gonna kill us!"
And that's when Yue narrowed her eyes with an idea.
"Clutch your bag. Tightly." With just a small glance up towards the ceiling as if measuring the distance, Yue brought out her arms in a waterbending stance.
The delicately-carved hairpieces attached to her braids, the bracelets around her wrists, and the thick anklets hanging above her feet instantly made themselves present before Sokka's amazed eyes... as he watched thin threads of water be summoned by each of those places. They were the cleverest form of liquid concealment the boy had ever seen... almost making his sister's Southern water-bending pouch look laughably primitive.
Yue was graceful about it, taking no more than a few seconds to waterbend these threads of water into thick ropes... then wrapping the water ropes around both of their bodies, like half-a cocoon... and finally launching ropes of that water up towards the ceiling like an unbreakable glob of glue.
Sokka didn't even have time to gasp, as the next thing he knew, he was trapped up in the ceiling in a pure net of ice. With Yue at his side, they held their breath and looked straight down at the familiar trio of Fire Nation nobles as they brought in a staggering, lanky boy as their victim.
"So what do you think?"
Katara was holding her wavy brown hair up to make a pony-tail, heading out the school's theater doors with Haru as he had just finished his Drama Club meeting. For almost half an hour, this young waterbender had managed to descriptively list the extraordinary things that The Tale of OmaShu could offer as a message for diversity, and she hoped that the great director himself would be up for changing his original vision.
"It would bring the school a whole lot closer by the time elections came around," Katara's voice did not lose its enthusiasm one bit, "and we could demonstrate a ton of cultural passion in the students. Like... like the Kyoshi warriors and their dancing... and Zuko and his amazing Shaolin fire-tumbling... and we could bring the incredible Toph herself to show just how great of an Earthbender she is..."
"Okay, Katara!" Haru hushed his friend amusingly, almost afraid that she would choke out of her lack to breathing. The young man was writing some notes on his clipboard, tapping his pencil against his cheek for a moment's thought. "I love the idea, and I don't think it would change the story of OmaShu by a lot... but are you sure that every one of these people would be up for it?"
"Of course," Katara said rather quickly. "They're my friends, Haru, and they're backing me up on my mission no matter what."
"As am I," he shook his head with sincere disbelief at how hopeful this girl could become at times. "But I'm just telling you... being able to perform onstage isn't the most pleasant thing for everyone."
They were walking towards the Earthbending Football field, hearing the huge crowd of cheering spectators get closer and closer. Katara's sapphire blue eyes were not reflecting radiantly by the sun, and Haru was just glad to see his usually-stressed out friend look so happy and free about her idea.
"I'll keep asking around," the girl finally secured her pony-tail for the water-bending lesson, "Toph said she'd love any excuse to Earthbend indoors, and Suki– well, the Kyoshi warriors seemed to like the idea. And I know Zuko's training hard for his Shaolin tournament, but he said he wouldn't mind helping me... as long as I don't make him play the drums. Stupid boy."
Haru chuckled a little bit, continuing to write a few things on his clipboard paper. His thin mustache twitched slightly as he turned back to Katara with a question.
"What about Aang?"
Katara blinked, letting go of her pony-tail instantly as they walked. "Oh, you mean the airbenders?"
The Earthbender narrowed his eyes for a moment, wondering what had made Katara so jumpy all of a sudden. Considering that her enthusiasm had just been so calm and undisturbed, Haru felt that he shouldn't press whatever was the matter with her.
"Yeah, we should ask the airbenders to perform," Haru concluded. "I think they have an incredible show of talent this school might not even realize."
Katara looked away, towards the cheering crowd ahead of them. She felt a strange tingling sensation of goosebumps along the back of her neck, and Katara couldn't help but wonder about Aang, and what he must have been doing at that moment. It was slightly uncomfortable... like that rush of cold that would hit her bare feet whenever she playfully stepped into the moat in the tennis court... and yet, the feeling was so peaceful. So warm.
For a moment, all she could think about was Aang's goofy smile, and how she watched him sleep so dreamily in Nurse Yugoda's clinic that day.
"Anyway, I'll write down some changes in the script and tell the cast the next time we have a full rehearsal," Haru attempted to say to Katara, but knowing full well she was not entirely there. "Have a good practice!"
Before she knew it, Haru had waved a quick hand for goodbye and strolled off into the crowd of faithful Praying Mantis cheerful supporters.
"Bye," Katara said softly to herself, still feeling slight discomfort in her own skin. But with a small intake of breath, she gathered her thoughts and walked briskly towards the water-tennis court to meet with Coach Hama ontime, for once.
As she passed one of the bulletin boards of the school, however, another poster caught her eye. It didn't have an image of Azula, thank goodness, but Katara read the bold handwriting that marked 'Student Body Electoral Candidates' at the very top.
Her heart started to beat faster, knowing that this announcement very much concerned her. Slowly, she read the remaining text of the poster:
'All candidates running for Student Body Vice President and President shall be required to deliver a school-wide speech, to be scheduled no later than one week before the voting period.
This speech shall be the candidates' individual opportunity to defend their knowledge and capability for the position they are running for, to assure to the entire school board and student body that their service to the school shall be for the best of their intentions.
All candidates should meet with their fellow sponsors, to schedule a speech assembly with Vice Principal Zhao as soon as possible.
Katara could feel the blood drain from her fingertips, noting the official Praying Mantis stamp of approval at the very corner of the poster.
This wasn't a joke. She had to make a speech in front of the entire school in less than a month! Her knees almost buckled, and Katara grabbed the poster from the bulletin to make sure it was real. Of course, she'd made dozens of speeches and presentations in her classes... but why was this simple speech assignment making her teeth chatter?
The massive crowd of cheers in the football field suddenly did not sound so pleasant anymore, and Katara placed all her strength in walking towards the tennis courts again... trying really hard to forget about the eloquent, mesmerizing voice of Azula.
"Your name is Longshot, correct?"
Sokka caught the softness of Azula's voice clearly from below, pricking his ears like needles. He looked over at the corner of his eye as Yue remained frozen to him at the ceiling, watching her scowl by the familiarity of that voice. The two men who'd followed Azula inside the tunnel had to be Chan and Rion Jon… and Sokka cringed, remembering those bullying fire-benders who'd forced him to donate his Math homework.
He clenched his fist over the ice that held his body up in the ceiling, watching that Oak Tree kid get pushed and stagger towards the floor on his knees. There was no coincidence as to why Sokka'd trained himself as a capable warrior all those years, and why he always carried a certain grudge for fire-benders.
Trouble always seemed to trail behind them… didn't it?
"You managed to stop two of my most trusted friends in the pursuit in the forest by sheer boldness from your arrows?"
Azula kept taunting the scrawny boy as he was cowering over towards the ground, with Rion Jon holding him in place. It looked like the princess had kicked Longshot in the stomach, and Sokka exchanged a worried glance with Yue, wondering what that crazy woman was talking about.
"You nod proudly, and yet you don't speak a word. Perhaps it is because you're thinking of someone else in this entire matter? Someone you're deeply fond of?"
Azula grinned at the mockery of her own voice, watching as Longshot's thin eyes became terrified, with his head bolting up to her. Boys were so predictable sometimes... and of course, she didn't know the exact name of this particular girl, but that was the least of her concern. She crossed her arms in full determination, looking over to the trembling young boy before continuing her narrative.
Yue and Sokka trembled as well, hidden up in the dark ceiling of the tunnel… not exactly sure how long the ice could hold their weight. But they intended to listen, nevertheless.
"I'm curious... does she know about your past?" Azula approached the cowering Longshot without a trace of caution. "How your Fire Nation family once lived in glorious pride as overseers of the Yu Yen archery camps, under my great-grandfather's regime? Fire Lord Sozin had hoped to train fine palace guards through these camps, and your elders knew it was a dangerous risk occupying foreign territory... but they did. They even hid their identities as Earth Kingdom dwellers, for the goodness of their family and the future of the Fire Nation. They believed in my great-grandfather's mission, didn't they?"
Longshot could hear the faint heartbeats in his chest, allowing himself to still breathe under such a coated lie that this Princess was making him listen to. It was such a clever one, too... and had the young archer not known better... he could've already seen himself fall into this woman's deadly eloquent trap.
"Whether you admit to it or not, you are Fire Nation by blood. And a loyal one." The princess laid a firm hand to the archer, as if he were a long-time comrade of hers. Her golden eyes did not blink once. "You can achieve great honor by helping me win this election, supporting the rightful place to our culture."
Yue heard Sokka gulp nervously at her side, and she felt her insides churning by those eloquent words that the Fire Nation princess dared to speak. It was a trap that this girl had understood far too well from experience… and Yue wanted nothing more but to hurt Azula for it.
The ice was slowly beginning to crack.
Azula narrowed her gaze to the restrained boy, waiting for him to make even the slightest note of an answer. The blank stare that Longshot made almost fascinated the girl. Azula couldn't help but study him intriguingly, as she would a small, lifeless doll with so much unnecessary color.
His words came out like a mumbling, un-tuned instrument.
"My family was never loyal."
Azula felt her eyes blink, appalled. "Excuse me?"
"Avatar Roku told my parents the truth," Longshot's words were now as clear as crystal, in spite of his restraint, and Sokka and Yue could only hear it in pieces. "The Fire Lord was usingYu Yen to try and infiltrate the Earth Kingdom, so they gladly shut down the camps without question. We didn't want to be the cause of an international war, and Azulon stripped usof a good name and banished us into the Earth Kingdom as penniless thieves."
He paused for a moment as Azula's lips pursed in disdain.
"How could we ever be loyal to someone like that?" Longshot finally added rhetorically.
Someone who would leave two incredible people to die by starvation, in hopes of keeping four little hungry boys alive.
The boy wasn't about to let one dangerously-clever lie make him forget what he'd been through.
Azula read the mute sarcasm in his voice, and it almost made her eyebrows twitch. Chan involuntarily uncrossed his arms while he stood beside his princess, desiring to punch the kid in the face. Instead, Azula raised a hand for Chan to stop, and Rion Jon gripped the boy harder by the arms.
"I see," she reprimanded in her velvety voice, amused to have this small pawn believing he could frighten a woman of her stature. "Well, since there is no use convincing you otherwise, it will be best to insure that your craft is temporarily lost, for the sake of my campaign. A shame nobody will be here to rescue you, with all this Football nonsense."
One cunning nod was all Rion Jon needed from her. One nod… to twist the boy's good arm, and then hear an instant crack... to bring an unimaginable cry of pain by the mute archer.
Longshot braced himself for the worst as Azula stepped back. She crossed her arms empathetically, and was just about to give the signal to Rion Jon, when a small cracking sound from above caught the clarity of her ears.
Sokka didn't even have time to yelp as the Fire Nation princess shot her head upwards.
Dozens of minutes passed atop of the Praying Mantis roof, and only the sound of Brei An's lovely singing voice was noted within that small circle of kids.
Perhaps it was all due to her airbending ability, but hearing Brei An hum such an elongated melody seemed to pass by them as tranquilly as the faint afternoon breeze. The Earthbending Football game was practically miles and miles away now.
As the minutes stretched almost into an hour, Aang felt himself releasing his thoughts, slowly... like the many points Toph was scoring out there in the football field... and about memorizing those last few lines in OmaShu play... that dreadful math exam Mr. Pakku was torturing the students about for days... and the horrible, horrible ideas that Azula was putting together for Katara by the time elections would come. His mind was at ease just by those beautiful blue eyes that gazed at him in such darkness, and with one breath, he let all of those thoughts of Katara float away like tiny dandelion seeds... just for a moment.
For this opportunity to speak to someone else.
... and when Haru said that he wanted us completely memorized by next week, I almost growled. He doesn't get it! People's lives are in danger, and all he's thinking about is this silly play.
At first, he thought it was his imagination, like the wind had whispered against his floppy ears... and Aang twitched in reaction. But he didn't open his eyes. He knew he couldn't have dreamt up such clear words like that... much less in a nervous, young familiar voice that had fallen into his head like drops of water in an empty glass.
Aang smiled. On Ji, I happen to like that silly play, and so do you!
He heard the same girl gasp within the circle, ignoring Xai's voice in the distance that remarked '…the hell?' as Aang kept his eyes closed and focused.
Aang! You can hear me!?
The boy didn't have to see to know On Ji was smiling as she Spoke. The darkness of his mind was building up into something he could only describe as an intricate web of threads. Threads of the softest light Aang had ever seen, moving and turning with her every word… creating just a portion of her mind. By the way the lines moved – gracefully, with an occasional jump - Aang could see what she was feeling.
This is really, really creepy… Aang couldn't hold his enthusiasm, either… but it's SO AWESOME!
His heart was racing in his chest, too nervous and excited to keep this incredible gift a secret. How were the other airbenders doing with this incredible session? It was all Aang could wonder outside of his meditation, but he wasn't about to let his conversation with On Ji go. His eyes stayed shut, trying to understand the threads of On Ji's mind that he was witnessing.
So has, um, Hide been bothering you again?
The threads of light suddenly moved faster as Aang let the words reach On Ji. He concentrated more on her feelings, and the boy could faintly hear a girl panting under her breath like an echo… then a body hitting against a metallic row of lockers.
He tried not to question it right away… as Aang knew, according to Monk Gyatso… that it's difficult for a Listener to differentiate between a person's actual memories and just their thoughts. Instead, Aang waited for On Ji's response, regardless of the many seconds it took.
The worst he's done is push me aside to get to class ontime.
Aang felt a certain hesitation in her, but the echoing voice kept on.
I get more nervous whenever he sees me with Kuzon... but I'm watching my back. How is Katara?
Her question came unexpected, and Aang almost lost his mode of focus completely. Relaxing his muscles and taking another breath, the boy gathered a few of his thoughts about what he'd been through with Katara.
Man, she's an amazing waterbender, On Ji… Aang felt his heart sink in his chest. I think... I accidentally said that I loved her last week.
WHAT?
On Ji's mind threads had jumped a storm.
It's the reason I got so dizzy and ended up in the nurse's office! Katara carried me over there, and before I knew it, I was talking to Avatar Roku in my sleep! My head must've been so clear--
But what did Katara say?
Aang grunted, wondering if his feelings had already reached On Ji.
Nothing. By the time I woke up, the nurse said she left with the Fire Nation prince.
He could hear the bitterness in his own spiritual voice, but the girl's threads slowly fell back into a calm, graceful state. On Ji Spoke to him with ease.
I think she's nervous.
Or she probably thinks I'm the dumbest little kid in the WORLD! He felt his stomach growl.
Aang, it's going to be fine! Girls can be strange about those things… if you give her some time, she'll open up to you. On Ji's voice faded away just for a moment, and soon it came back with another happy tone. At least you told her how you felt.
That's when the young boy opened his eyes. On Ji was still off in her meditation, with her eyes scrunched closed as if she were enduring a papercut. The cheers out in the football field were gradually returning to his ears, but Aang kept his focus to the circle of dedicated airbenders. He looked at Xai's uncomfortable frown, Brei An's hopeful expression to focus, and the way Loung's eyebrows twitched as if receiving an intriguing message from an imaginary friend.
Sifu Aang couldn't help but grin at his accomplishment, feeling like luck was finally on his side. As he turned back to see On Ji's face, a part of him sensed that strange connection between their minds… and Aang dared to clear his head and Speak.
On Ji, you gotta see this. Look at everyone's face. It's working!
The girl revealed her chocolate brown eyes to the sunlight, faintly hearing Brei An's song, and the football cheers in the distance as the Kyoshi dancers were beginning their traditional half-time praise to the Earthbending game. On Ji's eyes met Aang's, and as she looked around the handful of airbenders in deep concentration... it was like a weight had happily left her shoulders.
Do you think we should Speak to them?
The idea sounded too good to pass up as Aang heard it through On Ji's delicate spiritual voice in his head, seeing her smile in the daylight, and the scar hiding under her bangs. Aang turned to Suganya, while On Jil ooked over to Brei An. The little daredevil girl didn't waste time trying to cut into Brei An and Xai's conversation, but Aang suddenly stopped to stare at Suganya's strange expression.
She was frowning, perhaps from whatever Loung had just said to her... but there was something else about it. Like a irritating, irrevocable buzzing at the ear she was trying so hard to endure, and understand. The girl's lovely Kyoshi makeup distorted rigidly as she frowned, and Aang's eyes rose as he watched Suganya tilt her towards the direction of the football game.
Her mind had been extraordinarily opened, even with a small conversation just between her and Loung. Suganya had been strong enough to control the inner space of her airbending mind... letting someone else's feelings reach her like a magnet.
By the look on her face, Aang knew it wasn't a stranger.
Suganya, who're you Listening to?
And the Kyoshi dancer didn't even flinch in hearing Aang's spiritual voice reach her, but Loung straightened his spine with fright, opening his eyes immediately. Suganya let the wavy curls of her hair provide the comfort she needed to Speak back to her airbending teacher.
Ty Lee.
Azula's fire-blast barely missed Sokka's shoulder as the heat of it broke the ice, sending Yue and himself screaming down a twenty-foot fall. Chan sent another air-cutting fireball as they flew, but Yue's graceful arms melted the falling ice to give them a water shield… and she quickly waterbended a slight friction for them to land on all fours to the ground. Painfully, but in one piece.
"Such waste of a good skill," Azula side-commented to Yue as she regained herself from the ground, but the woman's keen eyes went to Sokka and Longshot, "and to think, how I greatly supported you Non-benders in our school's activities."
"Azula… you're a sick, twisted, power-hungry maniac." Sokka didn't care if his words were being spat out, with Chan looking like he was about to clobber him. "Anyone with a brain stem would be smart enough not to vote for you!"
"You'll address the Fire Nation princess with respect, you peasant," Chan didn't even wait for Azula to give him the permission to speak, and he showed Sokka a piece of his mind by pushing him to his backside... with his other hand in flames.
Longshot's arm no longer felt painful from Rion Jon's grasp, as he watched the dark-skinned boy clumsily attempt to defend his frame with his bookbag. Even without knowing his name, the archer wanted to help, but the lack of his faithful arrows and the restraint by such a dangerous fire-bender was keeping him down.
Yue, avoiding Azula's skeptical gaze, limped towards Sokka before Chan could launch the fireball... her arms lancing defensively like the waterbender Katara had been training her to be.
It was like the broken ice was summoned from the ground by her very own spirit, the way Princess Yue frowned so repulsively at Chan, blocking his fireball with a quick shield... and then taking the liberty of solidifying the water droplets again in mid-air.
The droplets became as sharp as talons, and they were aimed only towards Azula.
"Your Highness," Yue began, as Sokka blinked at her formality from the ground, "I'm begging of you... as one princess to another... to reconsider your styles of persuasion for this election."
"You're a foolish excuse for royalty, Yue," Azula dismissed the calm girl's formality like the trickles of sweat she noticed falling down the girl's cheek. "No princess would ever go against another's heart-sought wishes like a naive little child. You certainly learned that last year."
Yue kept her daggers of ice suspended steadily, but not even Sokka could avoid seeing the frightened look that came across her beautiful blue eyes. Chan stared at his girlfriend's cunning, almost seductive look as she glared at the other princess... and it showed that a new sense of compromise was brewing in her mind.
Her hands suddenly opened outward, becoming aflame with a radiant blue. "All you have to do is support my cause... so that the Fire Nation culture will continue to be its influence, as it always has."
"Highness, please," Yue felt her voice shake and she kept her eyes open and aware of all the people in the room. Sokka grabbed a hold of her ankle to steady her nerves. "This is madness."
Longshot's eyes watered shut by that point, and he breathed to remind himself that he was still alive, and hurting like hell by the grip of Rion Jon's hand... and yet he didn't say a word. As he heard the girl with snowy white hair speak so calmly, the only person that could crossed his mind was Smellerbee. He couldn't help but think he'd ultimately placed his best friend in danger... for the mere exchange of a personal grudge.
And with a small nod to her head, Azula might break the only defense he had.
The Fire Nation princess held her flaming hands out ruthlessly, with Chan at her side and being ready at her defense. Sokka had managed to lift himself up to Yue's waist but with barely enough energy to grasp the boomerang strapped to his back.
"Wait."
Rion Jon blinked as the boy he was holding firmly actually dared to say something. Azula and Yue stared over to Longshot's direction, as the boy's eyes closed.
"I– I'll do it," the archer looked up, hesitating to meet Azula's copper eyes. "I'll help you. Just let them go."
Her expression became rigid, with the flames still alive in her hands, but nevertheless Azula lowered them in slight critical means. It seemed like she was trying to read this scrawny kid's mind with the intensity of her eyes, wondering if she could trust his surrendering mood. Chan looked at his girlfriend oddly, as did Yue and Sokka in their defensive way.
But Azula smiled then, and took the deadly liberty of approaching the young archer. Sokka's heart was beating rapidly as he saw the woman's flamed hand nearly touch Longshot's cheek... but the moment before she lifted his chin up... the flame had disappeared.
"You did the right thing," Azula exclaimed softly, then gestured for Rion Jon to release the boy from his painful grasp.
Chan was sternly looking over to Yue and Sokka, with the ice daggers still in the air. "What if she goes to Zhao?" he asked his princess.
Azula glanced back to Yue, giving her an assertive grin as she answered Chan's question. "Hmm. I would love to hear the reasoning... a torn princess and her love-sick puppy... eavesdropping on a conversation that was absolutely none of their business."
Yue's ice daggers fell helplessly to the ground as droplets, grabbing a hold of Sokka from behind her for emotional support. Chan was still holding his firebending fists at the ready, and Sokka tugged at Yue's arm with a 'Come on. Before it gets worse.' And with her blue eyes glimmering back at Azula's cunning grin, Yue let Sokka's intent pull them out of the tunnel... leaving the poor boy named Longshot behind.
And Longshot just stayed in the ground, trying to breathe calmly as the two classmates safely ran out of this torture chamber. In his mind, he could only hear the firm voice of Jet demonstrating a new hip-hop routine... and the flustered, husky comments of Smellerbee in the background... and he saw Pipsqueak laughing heartily... The Duke imitating his brother's moves... he even saw a faint smile in that mysterious, pale girl who was slowly finding a home under the Oak Tree.
"Now, I won't pretend this sudden loyalty of yours has nothing to do with the safety of your friends," Azula's velvetty, deadly voice pierced Longshot's thoughts once again. "But as long as you do what I say, you will not need to worry about them."
Rion Jon kicked Longshot lightly at the back to make sure he was listening, and Chan chuckled in amusement. The archer could easily feel a certain pain returning to his good arm, feeling the weight of humiliation and defeat brew in his stomach.
I'm so sorry, Bee.
Longshot felt a small set of tears leave his tightly-shut eyes, his chest falling heavily as Azula placed a comforting hand on the young archer's cheek.
"And please keep you mouth shut, as you always do."
Azula waited for the lanky boy to compose himself out of his tears, so he could open his blackberry eyes again towards the princess and hear what she had assigned to him.
But all it took were the words 'non-benders' and 'air-gliders' in the same sentence... for Longshot to fully understand just what kind of a burden he was put into.
A/N - happy December! It was just around this time, one year ago, that I started browsing through Avatar Shipping AMVs on YouTube... and despite not knowing much about the characters, or anything past the basic premise of the show at the time... I was hooked. Before I knew it, I was breezing through every Avatar episode I could get my hands on... watching with such fascination as Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko and Toph developed in the show and became everyday names for me. And one day, right when my enthusiasm for these amazing characters was still fresh in my mind... I opened a Word document and decided to write a high-school story about them. But I couldn't leave some of my favorite secondary characters hanging, and with the highschool universe, the story took me places I never even imagined. It still is. I greatly appreciate all of you who've stuck to this novel of a story. I have just a few chapters left, but they'll be really good. I promise. --MM
