I waited for what seemed like forever. Three hours was a long time. I tried not to eat more than what was on my plate when Aetia had left, but I just kept taking a little bit more, and, well...
Aetia returned just as I finished the last noodle. I jumped up, plate falling to the ground, when I realized that it was really the last noodle. Everything in the basket was gone.
"Oh! I- I didn't mean too… I just ate… I was really hungry- I can pay you back-" I shut my mouth when I realized I was babbling. Aetia waved her hand. "Oh, it's fine." She said, and I breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a bit.
But when someone stepped out of the woods behind Aetia I tensed right back up.
"Who's that?" I pointed to the boy- who was really, really good-looking- and took a step back. Good-looking or not, he could be here to help Aetia take me to the police. Although, I don't think I would mind him being close to me, what with his deep brown eyes and curly hair, and the muscles on his arms… I snapped myself out of it.
What are you thinking? I cursed myself and took another step back. And ran into someone. I screamed and jumped forward, windmilling my arms and twisting to keep from falling into the cute boy. (I have to say, I regretted it a bit,). I took another step back, watching the third person laugh. She had a very pretty laugh, lighter and more cheerful than anyone else's laugh I knew of. She bent over sideways, holding her stomach. I glared at her. Aetia smiled a little.
"Tula, stop!" The girl- Tula- stood up, still smiling. I stopped glaring at her, and took yet another step back. Aetia looked at me.
"It's okay! We're not going to turn you in!" I didn't relax. She turned toward Tula. "This is Tula. She's visiting from the Air Temples. She's been here about two years now, and is a master airbender." That explained why I hadn't heard her come up behind me. Aetia then turned toward the cute boy. "And this is Ritu. He's a waterbender, also a master." Ritu smiled at me. Crap. He had dimples. Could he look any more perfect? "I couldn't find Saza- she's a firbending master- but she'll be here tomorrow." A small smile hit my face, as I began to suspect what was happening. It grew when Aetia confermed my thoughts.
"We're going to help you master the elements!"
Tula looked at me. Her blonde hair barley hid her tattoos. I'm not sure how I didn't notice them earlier. She was thin and short, and her blue eyes sparkeled. "We're not going to be able to teach you them in the correct order, because I have to go back to the Temples soon, and Aetia is joining me. So you'll have to learn air and earth before water and fire. I know they're opposites, and it'll probably be strange learning them first as opposed to your native element, but that'll have to do." She smiled at me. "Sorry!"
Aetia nodded. "I brought Ritu here to heal your hands. He's not an expert healer, but he can heal most of the burned skin." I looked at my hands, and hid a smile. Mister Perfect was going to be holding my hands!
Ritu walked over, and, pulling out a small pouch, covered his hands in water. When the water started to glow, he reached out and gently took my left hand. A wave of excitement rolled through me, followed by a wave of relief as the pain- which I hadn't noticed had gotten so bad- went away. He did the same to my right hand. Aeita came over and told Ritu to close his eyes, and, like a gentleman, he also turned around. She took off my shirt and I cringed, the skin sticking to the fabric with blood, (I had forgotten about all the holes. I blushed as I thought about how I must look to Ritu,) and put on a green one, but this one had the entire backside cut out, so that only three strings held it together. It felt so good. Even better when Ritu healed it.
I turned toward him, and he smiled at me (yay!). I looked at my hands, which looked strange, as though they had wrinkled up. They were red, too. "I'll come back later to try to heal the rest, but it looks like you're going to have some scars… sorry." He winced. I smiled at him.
"That's fine!" I said, patting myself on the back for not letting my voice squeak. He patted my shoulder, sending a shiver down my spine. He them went over to Aetia and helped her gather up the plates.
Aetia grabbed the basket, and Ritu and Tula began to walk toward the woods. Aetia walked toward me and hugged me, suprising me for a second. I hugged back and she pulled away.
"Tula and I will be back tomorrow. I'll bring Saza, too, so you can meet her. I'm not sure how we're going to teach you the opposite elements at the same time, but we'll try." She smiled at me. "I'm going to bring back a blanket, so you won't be cold. Tonight I'll try to find a way for you to be able to sneak in to my room, so you won't have to spend more than a day sleeping in the forest." She turned and ran to catch up with Tula and Ritu.
"Thanks!" I called after them. Ritu waved over his shoulder, and Tula turned and waved both hands over her head. Aeita smiled at me, and, before I knew it, they were gone.
That night, warm with the blanket that Aetia had brought me and the thought of friends, I fell asleep quickly.
The thoughts about Ritu helped, too.