Chapter Eight

"Focus…condense…condense…tighter…" Moria whispered to herself, her face scrunched in concentration and her eyes focused on a single point not too far from where she sat. It was very late. The others were sound asleep in their tents, spread out in the grassy clearing they were currently taking refuge in.

She sat cross-legged in the grass, leaning back against a large rock. One of the soundbender history books lay open in her lap. She decided that if she couldn't sleep, and since Zuko wasn't around for another late-night chat, she would focus on learning the one physical attack her people had developed over time.

Never breaking her concentration, a tiny white ball of light began forming in the air near the trees. It twitched as if it were alive, the quality of light dimming and brightening in a steady rhythm. She pictured herself folding a piece of paper, smaller and smaller until she could barely crease it, and the ball brightened. Her hair began to lift from her shoulders as a strong static current filled the air. A low grunt escaped her throat as the power washed over her. She was so close. If she could just tighten her hold a little more…

The tiny ball blinked out of the air, taking the static with it as if it had never existed at all. Moria sighed heavily and slumped against the rock, lowering her head to study the pages once more. If she squinted, the moon provided just enough to light to read the writings of her ancestors.

In theory, the directions were simple enough. Pluck a sound from the air and condense it, force it to fold into itself, and trap the energy inside. Once the energy can no longer be contained, it will explode outward. In practice, Moria found the instructions to be impossible. She could create the ball of energy, but no matter what she tried, she simply could not make it produce anything. Not even the smallest puff of air blew the blades of grass when it disappeared.

"Perhaps I'm just not capable of doing this," Moria muttered as she closed the book. She stood, stretched, and decided it was time to turn in for the night no matter what nightmares might plague her.

A hushed argument caught her attention as she neared the campsite, and she furrowed her brow. Clutching the large book to her chest, she approached the whispers and blinked in surprise.

Katara and Zuko, both dressed in black, stood beside Appa. Aang stood before them, arms crossed and speaking sternly to Katara.

"What's going on?" Moria asked cautiously as she stepped up to the small group.

"Zuko knows how to find the man who killed my mother," Katara said before Aang could even open his mouth.

"Oh! That's wonderful." Moria began to break into a smile, but Aang's disgruntled expression stopped her.

"It's not wonderful," the avatar said. "What is finding him going to accomplish?"

"I have to do this, Aang," Katara said, and the look on her face told Moria she had been repeating this over and over.

"You don't have to do anything but forgive him and move on!" Aang insisted.

"Forgive? Move on? Are you serious? How could you say those things?" Katara narrowed her eyes, her features darkening.

Moria swallowed and held up a hand, the other clutching her book tightly. "Aang, certainly you must understand where Katara is coming from. You have also suffered a great loss."

"He couldn't possibly understand," Katara scoffed. "He didn't witness the massacre of the airbenders firsthand."

"It doesn't matter," Aang protested. "We're working hard towards taking down the Fire Lord and ending the war. Isn't that enough? Won't that truly bring justice?"

Katara shook her head and began climbing up into Appa's saddle. Wordlessly, Zuko followed.

"Katara!" Aang cried. "Please think about this. Please!"

Gently, Moria placed a hand on Aang's shoulder. Quietly, she spoke in the avatar's ear. "I understand the anger in her heart. You saw my anger towards Zuko when I discovered he was Fire Nation. I wanted so badly to take him down with my bare hands. But I didn't, because no matter how strong my hatred is towards those who murdered my people, I could never take a human life. You must trust Katara, Aang. She has too much kindness in her to go through with what she wants to do. Don't fight her and let her get the closure she needs."

Aang sighed heavily and looked up at Zuko and Katara, watching expectantly from Appa's saddle. He slumped his shoulders and gave a slow shake of his head. "Be safe, okay?"

Katara's lips twitched with a faint smile and she gave a single nod before flicking Appa's reins and urging him into the air.

Moria squeezed Aang's shoulder and nodded towards the campsite. "Come on, avatar. Let's get some sleep. In the morning, I will teach you how to manipulate emotions."

"Can we use Sokka as a test subject again?" Aang asked, breaking into a grin.

Moria snickered. "There's no one better."

The morning was overcast, threatening rain, but Moria sat by the dead firepit and relished the cool, humid wind blowing gently against her. Aang sat across from her, Moria's carved lute resting on his crossed legs. He looked down at the instrument with uncertainly and awkwardly plucked at a few strings.

"I never learned how to play any instruments," he admitted. This was no news to Moria. Just the way Aang was holding her precious instrument told her he had no experience.

Gently, she took her lute back from him. "I'm afraid we don't have the time for music lessons. What about singing?"

Aang shrugged. "I never really learned how to sing either. Is that a problem?"

"Well, it would be better if you could," Moria said with a sigh. "It's much easier to persuade someone with your own voice than it is to use other sounds. Watch."

She began strumming her lute, humming along jovially to the music. Aang watched as Sokka exited his tent and began walking towards them, his eyes glazed and unfocused. Once he stood beside Aang, Moria stopped her playing and looked up at him with a smirk.

Sokka blinked once, twice, and looked around in confusion. With a groan, he stomped his foot and crossed his arms defiantly. "Stop doing that! I'm getting really sick of you using me for all of your experiments! Why can't use Suki or Toph for once? Why does it always have to be me?"

While Sokka continued to rant, Moria began playing and humming along once again. Aang watched in fascination as Sokka's voice lowered, his shoulders slumped in relaxation, and he sat down between them with a defeated sigh.

"Oh, all right," Sokka said. "I guess I can be your test dummy for a while longer."

"Thank you for volunteering," Moria said with a smile. She turned her attention to Aang while Sokka serenely picked at the grass. "People's emotions are a tangible thing. They can come out in the voice, or through tiny movements of the body. You have to learn to attune yourself to them. Once you pick up on that, you can manipulate the person to feel however you want. I could make Sokka angry again, or overjoyed. I could put him in a romantic mood or a deep depression. For me, I use my music to help override the current emotions. It may be harder for you, though, if you don't use music."

Aang tapped his chin as he considered her advice. "I guess I could try humming."

Moria nodded. "That could work. Put the emotion you want to push into your tune. Use it to creep into Sokka's mind and adjust his feelings."

"I'd prefer to stay in this mood," Sokka cut in. "In fact, I might go find Suki and watch the clouds roll in…"

Moria patted Sokka's knee with a smile. "I promise to put you back in this mood if you let Aang experiment on you for just a little bit. Okay?"

"Oh, all right," he agreed placidly. "But just for a little while."

"Okay, Aang." She gave the avatar a nod. "Starting with big emotions will be the fastest way to learn. I want you to make Sokka sad. Just remember everything you've learned so far and give it a try."

While Aang worked on finding the right tune to set the mood he wanted Sokka to express, Moria walked off to the edge of the clearing, out of sight. She slumped against one of the large rocks, closed her eyes, and waited.

A frog leapt in the grass nearby, and Moria grasped at the rustling sound and held it steady. She let out a slow breath and once again began to imagine folding a paper over and over again, forcing the sound in on itself. Again, she could feel the power beginning to build. She knew the little white ball was there, but she kept her eyes closed in an attempt to keep her focus. The air around her came alive with static, and an electric current pulsed through her body in time with her heartbeat. She clenched her jaw and continued to fold that mental paper, her body trembling with the effort. Her breath came out in short bursts. The power was rising. She could feel it. Almost there.

"Condense…" she whispered. "Just a little more…condense…"

The buildup pulsed out of the air and Moria dropped to her knees, exhausted.

"Dammit!" she cried, slamming her balled-up fist hard against the ground.

"What are you doing out here, Choir Girl?"

Moria let out a slow breath and looked up at Toph, who was covered with streaks of dirt and held a self-satisfied smirk on her face. "Why are you so dirty?"

"You can't answer my question with a question," Toph said with a roll of her eyes. "But if you have to know, Twinkle Toes isn't the only one who has to train. I've got skills to perfect, too."

"Well all do." Moria wiped the sweat from her forehead and shook her head.

"There was some real powerful energy coming from over here," Toph commented. "Was that you?"

Moria started to nod then quickly remembered who she was speaking with. "Yes, it was me. I'm trying to learn a new technique, but it doesn't seem to be working for me."

"Seems like you have a good start," Toph said.

"It doesn't feel that way." Moria got back on her feet and dusted off her skirt.

"I bet you're like me."

"What makes you say that?"

Toph shrugged. "Impatient, you know? You want to master everything right away. I get it. I hate doing the same thing over and over again."

"You just want instant gratification," Moria smirked.

"Exactly! But then I get the new move down and all that hard work pays off."

"I've never had to learn how to fight." Moria glanced up at the dark, low-hanging clouds. "Sure, we had common criminals on the island and a police system to handle them, but I was never a part of that. I cared for children and could easily calm them. This…this is hard."

"You'll get it," Toph assured her. She reached up to give Moria a powerful pat on the shoulder. "Just keep at it. Now, are you done with Twinkle Toes for the day? He's seriously falling behind in his earthbending and I need to beat some new moves into him."

Moria couldn't help but laugh. How different their training styles were! "I need to check in on him. He's working on something pretty challenging, but you're welcome to take him for the rest of the day."

"We should really set up a class schedule for him. Once Sparky gets back, he's going to want to work with Twinkle Toes, too."

Moria smirked and playfully ruffled Toph's hair. A plume of dirt erupted from her dark locks. "How about you get cleaned up? Then you can take Aang off my hands."

"This is nature's version of clean," Toph informed her, patting her chest proudly. "Send the kid over here when you're done with him."

"Will do." Moria snickered and made her way back to the dead firepit. She blinked in surprise at the sight of Sokka laying on his side, eyes welled with tears.

"Everything is terrible," Sokka said mournfully. "The world is falling apart around us, and we have to put all our faith in a 12-year old kid. We might as well just let the Fire Nation take us down now. Cut out the middleman…"

Moria wrinkled her brow and looked at Aang. "I said sad, not full-on depression."

"I tried, but I accidently went too far. Please fix it, Moria," Aang pleaded. "I really hope these aren't his true feelings!"

"They're not, don't worry." Moria squatted down next to Sokka and placed a gentle hand on his arm. She began humming quietly in his ear and a moment later he sat up and wiped at his eyes with the heel of his hand.

"You two are killing me," Sokka muttered. "This is exhausting."

"You've been on quite a wave of emotions," Moria agreed. "You're relieved for the day. Go watch the clouds with Suki."

"That sounds fantastic," Sokka said as he got to his feet. He sauntered off to their tents, head tilted up to the sky.

Aang sighed and picked at the grass. "This is hard. It's really easy to make it too strong. I tried to get him happy again, but everything he was saying was getting to me."

"I understand." Moria sat down next to him and poked at the charred wood in the firepit. "It's something you'll learn to control gradually. You can work on it more later. For now, Toph wants to do some work with you. You better go quick. I think it'll rain soon, and everything will turn to mud."

"Mudbending might be fun." Aang got up and started to walk away, but Moria held up a hand to stop him. He looked back at her and raised a brow.

"I have one more challenge for you to try later today."

"What is it?" Aang, always anxious to learn more, asked eagerly.

"Use what you've learned today and put me to sleep tonight."

Aang blinked. "What?"

"I think you've come far enough that you can manage it." Moria looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Please. Help me fall into a deep sleep."

Aang could see the desperation on her face. He wasn't as confident as she was, but he nodded gently. "All right. I'll do it."

"Thank you, avatar."

That night, as a hard rain pelted down, Aang sat near the exit of Moria's tent and watched as she lay down. She sighed heavily and pulled a brightly colored silk blanket up to her shoulders. Once she was settled in, she closed her eyes and asked, "Do the airbenders have any lullabies?"

Aang shook his head. "Not really. We always did meditation for sleep problems."

"Perhaps you could teach me someday, and I'll teach you one of our songs. For now, pick a soothing melody. Weave it into my mind like you did on Sokka. When it comes to sleep, you don't have to hold back."

"I don't understand. Why do you want me to do this so bad?"

"Shh, just consider it training," she whispered. "No more talking. It's time to sleep."

Aang watched her uncertainly for another moment before he began humming a made-up tune. It felt strange at first, to be doing such an intimate thing for his teacher, but after a few moments of gentle humming, the soundbender had fallen into a deep slumber. He stopped his humming and watched her chest rise and fall with each slow, relaxed breath. It was so easy, he marveled, and he began to understand why the soundbenders were so feared.

He got up quietly. He doubted anything could pull Moria out of the sleep he put her in, but he didn't want to risk it. He quickly exited her tent and sprinted through the rain to his own. He was exhausted, and a steady anxiety was building up within him. The day of Sozin's comet was barreling towards them, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. As he lay in his sleeping bag, he listened to the steady, listless rain and wondered, Am I strong enough? Are any of us?