Chapter Eight - Worthwhile

Standing up from her meditation after twenty four hours straight of sitting in one spot was uncomfortable to say the least, but she was thankful to be up and moving again. Tenzin slowly helped Jinora up, giving her an understanding smile as she precariously stood up, stretching out her stiff limbs arduously and slowly acquiring the feeling back in her lower body. When Jinora had regained the use of her legs to an acceptable level, Tenzin led her away from the pavilion towards the soaring air temple which housed the Air acolyte library and inside meditation area for rainy days. Once inside the temple they made their way from the library to the small staircase which wrapped around the temple. As they climbed the flight of spiral stairs upwards to the meditation area, Jinora became aware that the small room had been turned in to a makeshift workspace to give Jinora her tattoos. To the far left of the small circular room she noticed a soft looking bed with crisp white sheets spread over it and neatly folded towels at the foot of the bed. A few meters across from the bed were two comfortable looking chairs facing each other. In between the two chairs there was a small wooden table which had what she assumed to be the machine that would tattoo her sitting on it. Jinora also noticed that a small part of the room had been partitioned off. She silently wondered what was behind the screen as she moved to sit down in one of the squishy chairs next to her father. She sunk in to the chair comfortably, grateful for the cushioning underneath her sore body. It was only at that point that her fatigue really hit her; she glanced over longingly towards the inviting bed in the corner before she was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of Tenzin addressing her.

"Jinora," Tenzin started. "In about half an hour, we will start tattooing your body. Before we start though, you will need to do a few things." Tenzin stated simply. "Behind the screen is a warm bath and a pumice stone. You will need to clean your skin really thoroughly so the tattooing will be easier. There is also a pair of scissors and a mirror. You are going to have to cut your hair so we can tattoo your head. Cut it as short as you can and then come out to me. I'll shave the rest." Tenzin said poignantly. "I suggest cutting off your hair first." Tenzin said as he motioned for her to enter the sectioned off area. Jinora stood up reluctantly from her seat and slowly made her way to the partitioned area.

"I'll be right here when you need me." Tenzin said, patiently staying seated.

As Jinora entered the sectioned off area, she noticed the large wooden tub full of steamy hot water which made the mirror on the wall fog up. The glimmering water looked extremely inviting and her body longed to soak in the water and relax her aching muscles. Remembering what her father had said previously, she walked over to the mirror indolently and swiftly wiped off the mist with her hand. When the mirror was clean of the mist that shrouded it, Jinora took some time to closely observe her features in the mirror. The first thing that caught Jinora's attention was how exhausted she looked. There were tired purple bags underneath her deep brown eyes which made her look much older than she was. Her long, chocolate brown hair was tousled from being let loose in the wind, the ends of her hair brushing softly against her gentle shoulders. Thinking of her hair, she looked down below the mirror to see a set of solid metal scissors gleaming purposefully up at her from the basin, firmly reminding her of the impending task at hand. Hesitantly, she picked up the heavy scissors and looked up to the mirror at herself. She took a long pause to savour the memory of her long hair, observing how much she grown to look like her mother. After a prolonged moment of staring at her reflection, Jinora brought the scissors slowly up to her face and grabbed a long section of hair from the front of her face. She opened the blades and put her hair between them. Taking a shallow breath and closing her eyes, she closed the sharp blades forcefully and cut through her long tress of dark brown hair with a resounding slice that reverberated in the small space around her. Jinora reluctantly opened her eyes to inspect the damage. Where the long hair that framed the front of her face usually sat, there was now a short tuft of hair remaining from where she had cut. Jinora sighed heavily

'After I get my tattoos, I am locking myself up until some of my hair grows back,' she thought bitterly. This thought triggered a memory of a remark that Bolin had made to her before the meditation.

"Your hair isn't what makes you beautiful," Bolin remarked tenderly looking deep into her rich brown eyes.

Jinora smiled warmly at the memory, becoming more energised by thoughts of him. She continued to tentatively cut off her at a steady pace. Strangely enough, she was starting to have fun about half way through. In the end she was cutting off her hair almost enthusiastically until every bit of her hair was cut erratically short with bits sticking up at odd angles. She smiled at herself goofily and couldn't help but giggle. Jinora looked extremely different with short hair, but surprisingly, she didn't mind all that much. In fact, she thought it suited her. Leaving her long hair in the small basin, Jinora walked out to her father with a peaceful look washing over her face. Tenzin's eyes gleamed as he silently gestured for her to sit on the floor in front of him. As she did so, he lightly picked up the faultless razor from the table next to him and started to smoothly clean shave Jinora's head until all remnants of her hair had been removed. After he had finished, she brought up a hand inquisitively to her head, feeling the smooth skin that replaced her hair. She turned to face Tenzin and gave him a small smile before standing and making her way to the partitioned area again. As she walked the small distance to the bath, she could feel the air attacking her small bald head. She didn't think she would ever get used to the strange sensation. As she entered the sectioned off area, Jinora became increasingly eager to get into the bath and soothe her aching body. She quickly removed her clothing and sunk her body slowly in to the alluring warm water, letting it gently ease away her aches and pains. After a few short minutes of silently soaking, Jinora picked up the pumice stone on the side of the bath and vigorously scrubbed her skin as she had been instructed. As she finished up, she slowly raised herself from the water, leaving the bath and wrapping a towel securely around her body. Jinora felt significantly better now that she had bathed. She walked out of the sectioned off area and back to her father, who in the time she was taking a bath, set up the tattoo ink, some charcoal and an ancient looking machine which she could only assume was the tattoo machine.

"Jinora, could you please lie flat on the bed with your back facing me. I need to draw the outline of the tattoo on your body." Tenzin explained with an air of importance.

Jinora obliged his request and allowed her father to draw the outlines of the tattoos on her body, sitting up every now and again to he could draw on her limbs. He finished off the outline by swiftly outlining the arrow shape on her head. Tenzin stood back to admire his handiwork and nodded in approval. Looking Jinora in the eye, he asked a simple question.

"Are you ready Jinora?"

"Yes, I'm ready." She replied expressively.

"Ok, sit on the chair. We'll start with your arms."


The process of getting her tattoos was long and painful. In some parts, it took most of Jinora's self restraint not to let winces of pain from escaping her lips. Jinora didn't want to appear weak in front of her father; she instead chose to hide the pain by occasionally letting her exhaustion overtake her, allowing her to lapse in to short, dreamless sleeps. These dozes were frequently interrupted by the searing pain that radiated powerfully through her body when Tenzin started to colour in the tattoos. The colouring of her tattoo was the worst part by far. Her arms and legs could only just take the constant dragging pain of the needle penetrating her skin, but the sensitive skin on her back was not so resilient. As the colour slowly crept up her back, Jinora tried to block out the pain by focusing intently on the small table in front of her, trying her best to block out the sickening whirring noise of the tattoo machine. This approach did not work for long, causing Jinora to feel queasy. She closed her eyes tightly and begged for a distraction. In the few seconds she had her eyes closed, she tried to recall the memory of time she had spent with Bolin, letting the image of his handsome face plaster itself solidly in her mind. It was almost enough. She felt the machine crawl slowly up to her scalp. Opening her eyes, she could see her father in front of her body with his arms outstretched, firmly holding the machine. She didn't dare to move. She could feel Tenzin now colouring in the front of her new arrow, expertly navigating the machine around the corners of her tattoo. Eventually the whirring sound of the tattoo machine slowed and came to a halt. Jinora took this chance to look at her father inquiringly. Tenzin took a step back and smiled fondly at his daughter.

"You're all done," He said proudly, a wide smile playing on his lips, sweat trickling from his brow. "Would you like to see?" He asked. Jinora nodded slightly, apprehension filling her face. Tenzin smiled caringly at her and gently passed her a small mirror from the table. Jinora accepted the mirror and took a shallow breath before angling the reflective surface toward her face. The first thing that captured her eye was the bright blue ink of her arrow tattoo which had settled smartly on her forehead, giving her an appearance of wisdom and strength. The sides of the tattoo were puffy and red from being constantly agitated by the machine, but Jinora didn't care. Suddenly, all the training, pain and sacrifices she made were justified. She loved what she saw and took a moment to fully drink in the newly applied arrows on her body. Jinora smiled up to her father beamingly, her eyes lighting up with pride.

'I'm finally a master.'


AN: As you probably noticed, I got a rather bad case of writers block, hence the long wait. With classes going back, I will try and update the story as quickly as I can. Only a few more chapters to go. Get excited. Once again, I don't own LOK. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.