Chapter Four

Moria sat in front of the round fountain at the Western Air Temple with Aang sitting cross-legged directly across from her. Just out of earshot, Sokka stood chatting with Suki and was casting an occasional curious glance over to the pair.

It had been two days since Moria arrived at the temple and, out of respect for the tremendous changes in her life, she had been left alone to gather herself and adjust to the new environment. However, the day of Sozin's Comet was rapidly approaching, and if Aang had any hope of grasping the ability to bend sound, he would have to begin training long and hard.

Moria, who had never taught anyone the ability that came so naturally to her people, spent her free time coming up with a plan. But her confidence wavered. She often wondered how she could teach someone to bend something they could not see. Even air was visible within the rustling leaves.

It was Toph who made Moria realize the perfect way to start as she played chase with Momo just by following the vibrations of the lemur's tiny jumping feet.

Now, as the two sat by the fountain, shielded from the harsh afternoon sun, Moria raised her chin and said, "Put your hands on my neck."

Aang blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Put your hands on my neck," Moria repeated. "Palms flat with a little pressure, like you intend to choke me."

Aang wrinkled his nose and hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"Trust me."

Aang reached out slowly and placed his palms against her smooth skin. He glanced to the side, unable to meet her gaze."

"Do you feel the vibration of my words as I speak?" she asked.

Aang nodded, a slight pink hue tinging his cheeks.

"Focus on the vibrations. Notice how they grow stronger or weaker depending on the tone of my voice." As she spoke, Moria raised her voice to a near shout, then rapidly dropped to a whisper. "Your first lesson is to learn to pick up on these vibrations no matter how faint." She took Aang's wrists and gently removed his hands from her neck. "Everything makes a sound. There is no such thing as complete, total silence. Even the smallest bug makes a noise as it climbs up a tree.

"For now, though, I want you to focus on voices. Pay attention to how the vibrations vary depending on what's being said. Visualize the vibrations in the air and grasp them. Move them. Manipulate them to fit your will. Try to change the tone of my voice as I speak. Do you think you can do it?"

"It sounds a lot like airbending," Aang said, although he did not sound very sure of himself.

"I believe that it is," Moria said with a nod. "It's fortunate that you are an airbender. Since you are able to grab the wind, you should be able to do the same with sound."

"How do you pull the sound out of thin air?" Aang asked.

"I don't." Moria gave a single shake of her head. "Remember, there is no such thing as complete silence. I simply take the smallest sound and manipulate it to fit my purposes. When I created those giant footsteps to try and scare you away, I took the sound of a fox squirrel running across a branch and amplified it. Once you have a hold on a sound, you can do whatever you want with it, for as long as you want. But, once you let it go, it fades away."

"And how do you make a sound completely disappear? Like the way you cut off Sokka's voice?" Aang prodded, but Moria shook her head.

"Enough questions for now. You need to conquer the first step before you can move on to others." She turned her head and called out for Sokka, motioning for him to come join them.

Sokka seemed to consider the invitation for a moment before taking Suki's hand and walking over. "What do you need?" His face instantly flushed a deep red as his voice first dipped into a deep baritone and then rose into a high falsetto. "Why am I always your science experiment?!"

Suki quickly clapped a hand over her mouth to conceal her laughter. "You know, it's pretty interesting to see the ability in action."

"Then maybe she should use your voice for her examples," Sokka muttered. Suki's fierce glare instantly made him backtrack, and he gave Moria a wide grin. "I mean, I'm happy to help!"

"Thank you for your sacrifice," Moria said, a coy smile playing at her lips. She turned back to Aang. "I want you to do exactly what I just did using my voice. You may keep your hands on my neck to help focus on the vibrations. It may take a while to get it, so try not to get frustrated."

"Mind if we watch?" Suki asked. "I'm curious to see how this works."

"Sure," Aang agreed, sounding unsure.

While Sokka and Suki settled themselves on the edge of the fountain, hands enveloped together, Aang placed his hands back on Moria's neck.

"Focus," Moria instructed. "Close your eyes if you have to. Visualize the movement of the sound." Aang nodded and Moria began to talk.

She spoke of her best friend, a girl just a year older than her named Tasha. With a fond smile, she told the avatar that she and Tasha were once tasked with carrying a beautifully roasted chicken pig to the village pavilion, where a wedding celebration was being held. The gigantic beast had ended up being heavier than they expected, and the wooden tray tilted away from their grasp, sending the feast into the sand. She mischievously added that she and Tasha quickly returned it to the tray, dusted off the sand, and delivered it without anyone realizing what had happened.

She explained that her mother took care of the young children while their parents worked, and how she would often help out. Her father, she said, worked with the livestock and would make sure they were all healthy and safe. With a note of sadness, she added that he felt so guilty on slaughtering days that he eventually gave up eating meat altogether. Out of respect for her father, both she and her mother cut down on their meat intake as well.

She recited an old folk tale about a hidden spring somewhere on the great lion turtle's back, and if someone were to find it at exactly the right time, on exactly the right day, they would be granted one wish. She laughed as she said that she and Tasha would spend hours at a time looking for the spring and talking about the wish they would make once they found it. Tears filled her eyes and she quickly brushed them away. "We must have scoured the entire island knowing in our hearts that no such spring existed. But it was fun to pretend."

After a few hours, Aang was beginning to grow weary. Moria had to stop him several times so she could get a drink. Still, she never stopped finding something new and interesting to talk about.

"I could let him practice on my voice if you're tired," Suki offered. She and Sokka had been so interested in listening to her stories, that they had not moved from their perch on the edge of the fountain.

"Let him keep trying just a little longer." Moria gasped as her voice jumped up an octave. She grinned as Aang widened his eyes in shock.

"Did I do that?"

"Yes, you did. Try again." Her voice jumped once more, and she clapped her hands encouragingly. "Now try and drop the sound." Her voice dipped obediently at the end of her sentence. "Wonderful!"

"I'm doing it!" Aang cried excitedly.

"Don't lose focus," Moria warned sharply, and Aang instantly straightened his posture. "Do it a few more times. Rise and fall. Up and down. There you go, just like that. Over and over. Make my voice go up and down as fast as you can. Try not to laugh. I know it sounds ridiculous, but you can't let the sound go once you have it."

After a few moments of messing with Moria's voice, Aang dropped his hands and grinned proudly. "Now I want to learn how to make you say things."

Moria laughed and looked out at the orange colored sky. "I think that's enough for today. It's getting late. You may keep practicing if you can find some volunteers. If you're really feeling up to it, try it with no hands."

Aang looked over at Suki and Sokka expectantly.

"Oh, no, don't look at me. Not again," Sokka said as he shook his head rapidly.

Suki smirked and elbowed him in the side. "I would be honored to assist the avatar in his training."

Aang stood, nearly bursting with excitement. "Thank you, Moria. I bet by tomorrow I'll be able to do it with no hands."

"And if you can, I'll teach you how to manipulate someone's words," Moria promised.

"And I'll be the test dummy!" Sokka quipped and quickly slapped both hands over his mouth. "Would you quit doing that?!"

Giggling, Moria left Aang to practice his new skill. All seemed quiet and peaceful throughout the temple, but she knew the people here were preparing for a great battle. She wondered if her skills would truly aid the avatar as she walked down the long corridors. But Aang seemed to be enjoying himself and his eagerness was contagious. Even if soundbending played no role in taking down the Fire Lord, at least he was learning a new skill.

She stopped as she saw Katara sitting against the wall, intently studying a book in her lap.

"I didn't expect you to be very interested in that," Moria commented. She squatted next to Katara and motioned to the thick tome containing only a portion of the history of the soundbenders.

"Oh," Katara flushed. "I was actually reading about the medicines and healing techniques your people used."

"I'm sure our methods don't seem very advanced compared to the world now," Moria said, glancing off to the side.

"Not at all!" Katara sounded as if the very thought were ridiculous. "The herbal remedies listed here seem to be incredibly effective. I know at least no one in my tribe ever thought to try this." She pointed out a recipe for relieving headaches. "And these reports of delivering babies safely by cuttingopen the mother and having both mother and baby survive…that's unheard of. In the cases I've heard about, only the baby survives."

"We had some very skilled healers in our village," Moria said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

Katara glanced down and the closed the book. "I'm sorry."

Moria shook her head. "No, don't be. Please read as much as you like. You seem to be interested in healing and medicines."

"I am," Katara nodded. "I can heal with my waterbending, but I've always wanted to expand my knowledge."

"You are welcome to all of the information my people can provide."

Katara smiled and fingered the edges of the book. "How was Aang's first lesson?"

"He's beginning to grasp the basics, but he has a long way to go."

"Do you think he'll be able master soundbending?"

"He has the potential." Moria lowered herself into a sitting position and played with the hem of her silk skirt. "I'll teach him all I can, but there is so much I myself have not mastered."

"Do you think you could benefit from some training yourself?"

Moria raised a brow. "Who could possibly train me? I'm the last of the soundbenders."

"Well, you may not be able to train in soundbending, per se." Katara tapped her chin. "But what if you could find someone to help you hone your skills?"

"I can't imagine that such a person could exist outside of my island," Moria said doubtfully.

"Oh, I think we can find someone." Katara smiled slyly. "Give Aang a few more things to work on. Then, we can focus on your skills."