Chapter 3:

Divine Destiny

"Ryung Jae" ईबहलु ऱोा

Yuna had her tongue out in concentration. She was washing dishes in the bright kitchen, an hour past midday. They had just finished lunch and Ryung was feeling fed up with training Aerika today. It wasn't irregular for her airbending lessons to turn into some kind of argument. Lavanya, although far more considerate, was a firebender like her mother. What I wouldn't give to switch roles with you, dear. Yuna was the one who taught Lavanya her firebending.

The youngest in their family, Kalden, was also an airbender, to Ryung's dismay. I hope when he's old enough, he'll at least be less stubborn than Aerika.

"What exactly are you doing here?" Yuna asked, now noticing Ryung was still sitting at the large table.

"What I can't just be taking a few minutes out of my day to admire my beautiful wife?" Ryung Jae said, mimicking a sheepish tone.

"Nice try, but no." Yuna laughed putting down the plate she was working on. "What is it this time? The kids on your nerves again?"

"Perhaps," Ryung admitted. "But I was thinking about something else." He stated, tentatively. "Now don't blow up when I tell you… I'm thinking about going out of retirement. I might—kinda—sorta consider rejoining the council."

"What?!" Yuna exploded. Fire had fumed at the sink for half a second at her outrage. "Ryung, you can't be serious! You know how—"

"I know, I know!" Ryung interrupted. "It's just that I feel like I'm just pushing away these problems… And—and soon they won't just be my problems but they'll become our kids' problems if I stand around and do nothing to make Republic City a better place for them. You're not an airbender; you don't understand how oppressive and dangerous it is to be the spiritual element during such dark times."

"But you're wrong!" his wife hollered back at him. "I've given birth to two airbenders! I've wed an airbender! I'm part of an airbending family! Why must you try and push me away from this? I thought we agreed that we'd face our problems together!? Why are you trying to tackle everything on your own?!"

"I can't explain it properly!" Ryung screwed up his face, troubled. "As much as I love you and as much as I would love to share this problem with you, there is only so much you can understand on the outside."

"Then let me in…" Yuna pleaded softly.

"I can't… No one can…Only the spirits have that kind of power," he answered, miserable.

Yuna turned back around, picking up her plate and continued scrubbing it. She seemed to be shaking slightly; it pained Ryung's heart when he heard her sniffling.

I'm not trying to be mean. This is just—this is just the way things work… Why can't you understand that?

He tore his eyes away from the kitchen and looked through the shiny, glass panes that showed off an incredible view. The green trees brushed up against each other at the call of a peaceful breeze. He could distantly here the crashing of the shining, blue waves on the rocks now that all was quiet inside. A few small birds flew from tree to tree with an occasional chirp.

Despite how lively the outside world was, Ryung could not lighten up while he knew Yuna was so depressed.

A distant cry from a baby came out and interrupted his gloomy thoughts. "Don't forget, the girls want to go into the city today." Yuna croaked, after walking to the stairs, where Kalden was calling out for her.

"Come on, Dad!"

"Hurry up you big slow poke!" Aerika and Lavanya had started to sprint ahead on the sidewalk looking back at Ryung, who was grudgingly trying to keep up.

They were just coming across Central City Station in a far more deserted Republic City since it was still early in the afternoon.

"Oh! Can I have this?! Please, Dad?! Please?!" Lavanya was planting her small head into the glass displays of a nearby store. There was a small box under several small torches.

"Ichiro's Mecha Fireworks…" Ryung read aloud once he reached her jittery body. "Light up the end for easy, automatic, homemade fireworks." He frowned. "What do you want fireworks for?"

"To use them. Duh." Lavanya answered, flatly, rolling her blue eyes. Her perfectly straight, black hair was tied in a tight knot. Her skin was a much paler shade than Aerika's naturally tan surface.

"What? On the island?" Ryung Jae scoffed with a laugh. "Absolutely not."

"You're no fun!" Aerika's gold eyes squinted into a scowl. Her messy, brown, shoulder length hair fluttered after she looked away.

Perhaps Yuna is right. Ryung suddenly thought as he watched his two daughters frantically search for an alternative item through the window. I have more to think about than just me. If I rejoined the council, I could be putting my family in harms way.

"Hey what about this?" Aerika dashed into the store and went over to where a bunch of medium sized boxes were piled. Ryung automatically trailed Lavanya inside and noticed Aerika was wearing a gear-shaped monocle clearly too large for her. He smiled at her and picked up one of the red boxes and read the description.

"Let me try it on," he said, smiling. Aerika handed him the monocle. "What do you think?"

"It looks ridiculous on you," she said, unimpressed.

"Oh does it?" her father asked, mischievously.

Ryung Jae pressed against the top right tooth of the gear-lense as if pressing a button. Water squirted out of the monocle and landed on Aerika's head. Lavanya was overcome by a fit of laughter immediately. Aerika, however, stood still unable to contain her wide smile until she cackled as well. Ryung joined in, heartily.

In the end it had convinced Ryung enough to get three of the monocles before they continued on the road. They passed the iron statue of Fire Lord Zuko, who held a fire in his right hand. Ryung could not recall ever seeing the fire extinguished from the many trips he had made to Central City Station before.

"Dad! Dad! Can I get a lemur?" Aerika exclaimed after noticing a pet store almost an hour later.

"Eh—well, I don't know…" Ryung said, uncomfortably. "A pet's a big responsibility…"

"I swear I'll take care of it!" Aerika said eagerly.

She's never asked for a pet before."What is with your sudden interest in having a lemur?" Ryung asked, quizzically.

Aerika pointed a short finger at a large cage of ring-tailed winged lemurs. "Oh just look at them! They're adorable!" Lavanya snickered at her sister's excitement.

"You know what? We could use a pet on the island now that I think about it. Will you promise to take care of it?" Ryung asked, surprising even himself of his decision.

"You—you mean it?!" Aerika gasped. Lavanya also had her mouth slightly ajar, staring at her father. Ryung grinned and nodded. Aerika tried to suppress her joy as best as she could and gave a serious face. "I promise."

They went into what seemed like the fiftieth shop that day. Aerika was tugging gently at Ryung's leg, unable to stay still while they walked. Yuna's going to kill me for this one. Once inside, both of Ryung's girls went off in different directions.

The entire process was slow and tedious, making Ryung regret going through the trouble. There were several documents and insurance policies that made the whole transaction take an hour and a half. Not to mentions this was after the forty-five minute wait on Aerika's decision on which lemur she wanted out of the dozen that were there.

She decided to name it Chenpo. That was probably the only thing she decided on without any trouble. Though the wide smile that she had throughout the tiring process—the liveliness of her eyes once she held the small lemur in her small, skinny arms, made everything worthwhile for Ryung once it was all over. He casted a weary smile as they exited the small store.

Although that only lasted for several minutes as they came across some sort of disturbance on the far street near Yue Bay. There were many gasps and almost everyone started to run towards the large crowd and get a glimpse, their selves.

"You two wait here," Ryung called out over the noise of the crowd. "Do not get separated, do you hear me?"

They nodded rigidly.

Sprinting down the road, Ryung continued to look at the oncoming cluster of people until he merged into them. Being naturally light on his feet, he maneuvered around each person with ease, until it was clear as to the source of the panic.

He was looking at Air Temple Island like he'd never gazed at it before. The statue of his great-grandfather's eyes were glistening a bright enough blue that it burned his eyes in the middle of the broad daylight.

"Reiatsu" 金塔罗 蕾亚子

Reiatsu found himself in the infirmary of Kotai Academy. Glancing at the wall, he laid still, feeling outside of the progression of time. It seemed to sit still. A reflex hammer and a stethoscope were hanging against the wall on a rack. Although it seemed like they were a part of the wall because of how long Reia had been staring at it. Everything ached and his head stung with every slight bit of movement he had dared to try earlier.

Though despite how still he was, his mind was foggy and felt like it could not focus. The only thing that ran through it was preventing further pain when he had attempted to turn around. He heard footsteps every so often as well as a lot of voices in the hallways. What… What happened? He finally managed to muster.

Some more footsteps came from across the hall. These were somehow different. They were composed—rhythmic with one another.

"I don't understand," a vague voice said.

"How could you? It makes no sense. There must be some kind of mistake." The quiet voices were raising in volume.

"Shhh!" a third hissed. It was only a few seconds of silence before the door creaked open and let what looked like six earth sages inside. I—the chair! Reia managed to bluster. Their appearance suddenly drilled all the memories back into his head.

"How did this… happen?" he called out hoarsely. Suddenly he had the urge to cough. No…please… His attempts to refrain only delayed it by a few seconds. He involuntarily coughed, feeling an intense pain heat up in his abdomen.

"We are not sure, Avatar Reiatsu," the leader spoke up. "Brothers and sisters, please give me some time alone with him. Thank you," he added as they all exited the small medical wing.

The Sage waited until the door was firmly shut before speaking again. "Do you remember my name, Avatar?"

"Stop calling me that," Reiatsu snapped.

"My apologies, Reiatsu." The man, bowed his head slightly.

Clearly he missed what Reia meant, but The Avatar did not have the energy to point it out.

"Do I remember your name?" Reiatsu repeated, astounded. "I'm sorry the whole being burnt alive thing must've made my memory a little fuzzy," he snarled.

"Er—right, sorry," the earth sage said. "My name is Cheng." He had a greying, trimmed beard to match his short, grey hair, brown eyes, and wrinkling, tan skin. "I know I don't have much to offer you, but do you want me to stick around for a while? It seems lonely in here."

"No—please—Just leave me be." Reia grimaced, turning to his side again.

"Very well," Cheng said hesitantly. A few moments of silence lagged before Reia heard Cheng's footsteps and then the opening and closing of the door.

ZEKE! It occurred to Reia finally once he was alone again. Does he know?! How long have I been out?! He frantically searched around the wall but could not find any sign of a clock. I need to get moving—He's going to kill me! Reia's heart sped up, frantically. I need to get out of Kotai—that's obvious… But how? And then what?

Reia sat up too quickly and felt his head swirl violently. He adjusted his arms on the soft mattress for support. It's hard enough to just get out of this bed. Steadying his body, he planted his bare feet on the stone cold floor made of black marble. It took at least five minutes for him to actually let his legs take some of his weight but once he did, it was shortly after that he fully stood up. He slowly went across the room, leaning on the wall until he stopped at a sink.

Reiatsu splashed cold water on his face, practically bathing in it. The chill had washed away the shadow of his lethargic brain. He now felt as ready as he would ever be to face the mirror.

To his surprise there was no burnt skin from where he could see. The only thing that was close to it was an outline of pink skin, but the area of the outline was far more terrifying.

What—What is this?! Reia felt his stomach drop.

Two slim arrows ran across every part of his body within his field of view. One was red and the other was blue. At his hands, they formed like the tail of a dragon, split two centimeters apart from each other. I can't believe I didn't notice the ones on my arms while I was laying in bed… On his right arm the red was side was on the outside and the blue was on the inside. However, on the left side, it was the opposite. Reia cautiously looked down and noticed the same sinister pattern on his feet—although the same colors were also inverted in location to his hands.

His clothes were neatly folded on a chair near the exit. It felt embarrassing that it was so difficult and painful to do something as simple as putting clothes on. It took countless time as well as many hisses and curses of pain. When he resurfaced to look at the mirror again he noticed his bottom lip had started bleeding he bit it so hard.

Reia leaned closer to the mirror as he tried to tend to the wound. When he moved his head, he noticed there was a faint red on the left side of his forehead. Is that blood?! He moved the bangs of his hair and say the same dragon tail, red and blue, split in the middle in a perfect alignment to his nose. He let out a deep breath in relief. I don't think my heart can take much more of this.

Reia peaked his head outside keeping the door pressed against his cheek.

"Yes, Avatar Reiatsu?" a woman's voice spoke, stiffly. The noise startled him into knocking his head into the ajar door.

"Argh! What are you doing here?" Reiatsu questioned, nursing the side of his face with his left hand.

"Guarding the door." she answered tensely.

Oh yeah… Avatar thing—right….

"I'm….not aloud to leave, am I?" Reia asked, gloomy.

"You need to get some rest. You shouldn't even be walking around so soon," the woman stated. I'll take that as a no.

Reiatsu grimly drooped his head along the door. "I'm dead! It's official! Zeke might as well fill out the forms already!"

"What are you talking about, Avatar?" The green, cloaked woman suddenly looked at him for the first time, concerned. "You are perfectly safe with the earth sages around to protect you." But she didn't understand how powerful Zeke was. How he could compel them to hand him over in a heartbeat.

As long as I'm in Kotai, I'm never safe. Reia sighed deeply before starting up again. "I'm very sorry about this."

"Hm?"

He slammed the door wide open and the Sage screamed in pain, pulling her hand out of the door's grasp a moment too late. Reia grabbed her injured hand without hesitation and jabbed in the inside of her elbow. It flopped over and exposed her back. He shoved his fingers near the center of her spine and within a second she lay paralysed on the floor.

His head shook in severe pain from his violent movements. I don't have much time—I need to keep moving before someone discovers her. Though after a few steps forward, Reia looked back at her tentatively. She stared back with an expression Reiatsu never had been given before: Fear.

It stung Reiatsu hard enough that he realized he wasn't paying attention to where he was going for the first two hallways. There was an abnormally large amount of people in the hallways today but it seemed most of the school was none the wiser on the situation. Reia tried his best to avoid any suspicious behavior but his legs were very jittery now being around a crowd of people. He felt more paranoid as Avatar Reiatsu than he had ever felt the need to be as Zhur Reiatsu.

It felt like he was in a tunnel trying to find the exit for hours, even though he knew exactly where to go and the whole ordeal only took twenty minutes. His nerves seemed to really have been messing with his perception of time. If any one of these people know I am the Avatar they'll try to kill me no doubt.

"Reiatsu! Come back!" one of the other Earth Sages called out across the hall. No—no! You imbecile! Reia froze in place, trying to blend in like the shadow people always acted like he was. But that was no ordinary shadow to them. That was Zeke's shadow. In two seconds it seemed he had confirmed his theory. The hall started to quiet down with students suspiciously glancing at each other.

"There!"someone called out behind him. Without hesitation, Reiatsu started to push people out of the way and ran down the hallway. He heard the crash of several windows before an outburst of pain echoed from an unlucky bystander. The very earth shook once chaos broke out inside the crowded school.

Surprisingly, going through the mayhem was a lot easier than ten minutes ago when the school was unsuspicious. Reia knew there was nothing left to salvage and didn't need to pull off any more deception as he ran through the main hall of the school. Everyone was too occupied in engaging in a fight or avoiding one that they hardly noticed Reia or his guilty behavior of fleeing.

The noise and sprinting made him stop momentarily again; his head was swaying even more out of control than before. No! We're so close! I can see the doors now!

He steadied himself on a wall for several seconds, hoping against all hope that no one would notice his momentary weakness.

It seemed he was just as fortunate this time. Once his vision cleared up and his thoughts resurfaced, he started jogging to the doors. His lungs protested with every inhalation but he kept going at the same pace until he reached the main doors.

Reia pushed all his weight into the door but it only pushed against the hinges to his dismay. "It's locked! You've got to be kiddin—!" A powerful force of wind skinned across his face half a second before he heard the deafening shatter of the glass door right in front of him. A short guy laid on the concrete of the front yard, moaning in his daze.

Reia looked behind his shoulder, wildly, and found an extremely large jock clapping his hands together, admiring his work like it was an art of some sorts. Well I guess that works.

Making sure not to cut himself, Reia cleared past the opening of the jagged glass and continued his sprint forward until he was at the edge of the yard of the Academy. A familiar person came into view.

Wait—is that Avani?! He baffled seeing a figure glancing along the Courier Trench in the far distant. His heart raced faster than his legs as her features became more certain.

"AVANI!" Reia exclaimed, relieved. "Thank the spirits you're here! I was so nervous that I would never see you again! We need to get out of here! The School is absolutely mental and—" He stopped.

Something wasn't right. Avani continued to lean against the fence, as still as a statue. She didn't even look like she was breathing.

"I have only one question," she finally spoke, turning around. Reia flinched. His friend's tone was ice-cold. The glare of Avani's green eyes matched Jakyri's usual expression upon noticing Reia. "Why? Why let the spirits taint your warm heart?"

Reia felt dizzy for what seemed like the fiftieth time today, but he knew all too well that it was not from physical exertion this time. "Wha—What are you talking about?" Reiatsu asked timidly.

"Nevermind," Avani sighed, lips trembling.

For a second, Reia felt that Avani was just messing with him as she dropped the question. The thought was quickly demolished by a hard rock that propelled into his chest with a heavy thump. Reia was knocked backwards several meters until he hit the ground. He coughed in pain from the sudden force before lifting his head, puzzled.

"Avani what are you doing?!" he shouted, slowly getting back on his feet. Though Avani made no response other than raising her arms for another blow. Her green eyes now had a blazing fire in them that melted away the cold.

After a pause, she bent another rock at him apparently unable to understand Reiatsu's cries of objection. It seemed like it didn't matter what he said, though. Nothing was going stop her and that only made Reia more afraid. He barely managed to duck under the earth that sling-shotted at his head this time. She's going to kill me! A sudden panic emerged in Reia after noticing her face was full of resolve. He abandon his attempts of reason and made a break for the street.

Despite Reia's natural speed, Avani was more disciplined and practiced. She slowly closed in on him until she tackled him from behind. Head pounding, Reiatsu struggled as Avani pinned him down with her far superior strength. He looked at her blurry face, now noticing tears were freely streaming down the corner of her eyes and glistening on her cheeks. She pulled out a chunk of dirt off the ground and sharpened it like a long knife.

"YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!" Avani bellowed mournfully.

A thunderous roar shattered Reia's fearful thoughts. Two enormous, black pipelines snapped from below and sank deep into Avani' hovering shoulders. She was shot through the air by the vicious pipes before the thick tubes tied her to the ground, like a snake.

Reia's legs no longer seemed to properly function when he tried to get up again. He couldn't really blame them after all of this.

"Reia! We need to go! Are you all right?! Can you walk?" a habitual voice called out, running up to him. It can't be…

"Kei—Keito?!" Reia gasped, now seeing his twin's stern face. He felt his helpless body being lifted and then led to a black and gold, steam car. Reia did his best to carry his weight but he ended up limping with an arm around Keito's shoulder. Keito immediately shut the door when Reia was safely inside and went around to the driver's seat. Dreamlike, the academy slowly faded away behind the large buildings of Kotai.

"Nilak" 尼罗河

The chilly wind bit at Nilak's face and hissed in his ears. His mouth felt dry, irritably reminding him of his growing thirst. Even with such a short walk, it was so crowded and cold. It was safe to assume Republic City was a lot denser after six. If I said that when I arrived a couple weeks ago I'd think I was crazy. The noise he heard walking down the streets seemed organized now—even musical. It used to be so chaotic and make him feel somewhat delirious.

Nilak walked through the crooked, wooden door that creaked much like his own apartment door. The rundown cafe was made almost entirely of wood and contained only a few customers. Nevertheless, it was a welcoming change of scenery from the hours he spent in his apartment.

Nilak waved a hand and thankfully got the barkeeps attention. The man was fairly fat with a messy stub of a beard across his face and his slightly cleaner, shaved head.
"What can I get you?" he gruffled while approaching Nilak.

He got out of his seat and walked over to the kegerator and pointed at the last tap on the end. "Eh—all right then." The bartender studied Nilak, skeptically, as if he were mocking him. After a few seconds, he went started in his normal routine to get a large glass under the counter. Nilak gave a short tug of his head to him in commendation before sitting back down.

During the wait, he surveyed the walls. Most things were decades old; Pro-bending tournament trophies, black and white pictures, a pair of electrified kali sticks, a few gas masks, and a strange taxidermy. What kinda thing is that?! It was a severed head of what resembled a black panther; however the snout was shaped like a wolf's. On the canine-snout was small whiskers. The orange blend of stripes along the black coat of fur was mesmerizing.

"Catch yer eye?" The man returned placing the drink in front of his customer. "That there is the head of a tigerwolf! Well albeit it's a fake, but that's what one looks like. They're fierce things: tigerwolves. People say they are the worst of the spirits. Always ransacking small towns they come across."

Nilak took his glass to lips but was distracted when a small bell rang with the croak of the main wooden door. You're early. He saw Taige tentatively walk in, looking around the cafe as if it was full of people. When her wandering eyes did eventually latch onto Nilak, she went up to him. "Can I sit down?" She asked hoarsely.

'Of course,' Nilak gestured distantly. He heard the soft plop as she sat on the stool next to him. The harder he tried to focus on his beverage the less noticeable it seemed to be. The night was starting to wash in as if Taige had brought it with her from outside.

'You know, I planned on being a bit looser before you arrived,' he admitted, sloshing the glass in his hand. 'How did you find me, anyway?'

"Your neighbours told me when I was at your apartment," Taige responded.

'Oh—all right.' An awkward silence overpowered their conversation while Taige had gotten herself a beer. Nilak took several sips during the process. The cold and bitter taste of barley and wheat swashed inside his mouth.

"I—uh—I screwed up, didn't I?" Taige stiffly said after taking a large gulp of her own glass. Her shameful expression was a huge blow to Nilak's stomach.

'No, I'm sorry—I overreacted. I let my own insecurities get the better of me.'

"No—that was my fault completely! I feel guilty for ignoring you—I'm just so used to normal conversations when we went into City Hall I…I spaced. I'm an idiot," Taige spoke bashfully. It was strange hearing her talk so reserved for a change.

There was a long, stiff silence that followed as they looked at the black and white television in the center of the bar, at a loss for words.

'I guess we're both pretty bad at this, then.' Nilak considered, giving Taige a reassuring smile.

"Haha! I guess you're right!" she exclaimed, sounding much more like her normal self. Nilak felt the tension that had built up in the discussion alleviate drastically. Nilak's head was now buzzing and he couldn't help but feel loose as they continued to talk. It seemed Taige was also getting as steadily drunk.

'I'd say I left a bigger impression on the council than even I wished—all things consider,' he teased, stretching his arms out.

Taige chortled. She hid her face on the counter in her arms. It took a few seconds before she resurface, red with laughter.

Nilak's muscles felt far more relaxed than they've been for a while. Whether it was the alcohol or because of Taige he still couldn't be sure.

"So are you going to give the council another chance?" Taige laughed. Nilak imagined if she were to ask this question she'd be a little more anxious of his response.

'I—yeah. I'll try to be more patient and understanding with them. I just hope they haven't shut the door because of my little scene.' Nilak motioned, putting his beer back on the counter.

"Heh—Don't worry about it. I'd be surprised if they weren't impressed by your boldness," Taige responded, still grinning uncontrollably. "Council members tend to admire those kinds of things. Just—just don't overdo it, you know?" She wore a sheepish expression.

'Er—Right.' Nilak looked around the rest of the room, awkwardly. After another twenty minutes he glanced at the clock for a moment, it was nearly ten at night. I still haven't written to Rivik this week. 'I…should get going. I need to write something tonight and I don't want to be too over the top when doing it!'

Nilak tried to get off his seat, only to find himself swaying dangerously. He put a firm hand on Taige's shoulder for support. 'Wow I drank way too much.' He silently cackled, now holding onto the stool.

"Here, lemme—lemme help you out." Taige slurred, putting an arm around his shoulder. They both waddled through the cafe and out the door. With the cold breaching his skin again, Nilak's head felt numb and he seemed to have little control over his muscles while he walked with Taige, exchanging each other's weight along the road. It's a good…It's a good thing I went to this joint since it's on the same street as my building.

A small group of four people swarmed in around their slow walk. They wore very little that wasn't black and several had gas masks on.

"HEY! YOU TWO! Yeah you! Give us all the money you have on you!" Nilak was surprised how long it took him to notice the electrified gloves in each of the robber's right hands. Taige looked at Nilak, frightened. "We'll also be taking that necklace." He pointed at Taige. "And that pocket watch!" He looked at Nilak. The loose chain in his pocket was a dead giveaway. A roar from the wind followed his cold, cruel voice.

Nilak felt dizzy again, but he tried to clear his mind and focus. He surveyed the surrounding area. There's got to be something…

One of the hooded figures closed the already small distance and grabbed at the chain outside his pocket. He put a stubborn hand on the man's wrist. 'No, not that—anything but that.' Though Taige was not looking at him. She was looking wildly around for some kind of outside help. Her eyes were wide with fear. No don't panic. It was miserable for Nilak to see her so distressed.

There it is.

With a flail of his arms, the square biscuit on the street suddenly shot up about seven meters high from a raging wave of the sewage water. He waved around fluently in a circular movement in a tight rotation until it pushed all the outside thieves to the ground. The water quickly froze them to the ground. The closest of the four, however, backed up now and bent several fire blasts at Nilak. As if shutting a door, he made a wall of ice that blocked most of them with a loud crack. The last two completely shattered the wall but Nilak condensed the halves together and stopped those two right in their tracks. He pelted the two, small boulders of ice at the firebender and jumped up in the air for another stream of water. The combined force proved too much to handle and he too was washed over by the water and swiftly dealt with—confined in an ice prison.

Nilak breathed heavily for several moment, making sure everyone was completely restrained before slowly walking his way back to Taige, nauseous. She was sitting on the ground, weakly, eyes full of tears. Nilak's ragged breath caught up with him making him put his hands on his knees gasping for air.

'Are—Are you all right, Taige?' Nilak asked anxiously. He gave her a hand and she got back up onto her feet.

"I—I think so." Taige answered disjointedly. She seemed to be gaping at him. "You—You're a waterbender?"

'Yes.' He knocked, relieved.