Avatar: The Last Cycle

Bao

The mark was striding down the crowded street, a look of satisfaction on his face, a moderately pretty girl dressed up in traditional clothes on his arm, her face covered in too much makeup. The tide of humanity parted as they came thru, making way for the rich out of the desire not to have to look at them. The mans clothes were of the latest fashion and clearly expensive, and he was a wearing a ridiculously tall hat and carrying a mahogany cane. Bao thought the two of them looked ridiculous, but hey, they also looked happy. A careful glimpse confirmed the minor bulge in the mans right pocket- that was where he kept his wallet. Whistling a cheerful tune and maintaining the carefree look of an unremarkable 15 year old kid, Bao altered his course so that he was walking steadily towards the rich man.

As he got closer, the woman on his arm noticed him, but gave him only a brief look before forgetting his existence. He noticed that as he got close enough to see through the mask of makeup she was actually a bit more than just pretty. Bao had never understood the attraction to so much makeup. The rich man hadn't noticed him at all, which was good, but not entirely necessary. When they're paths had almost intersected, Bao lifted one bare foot and subtly tapped it against the pavement.

As a tiny bump rose up in the concrete, the rich man stumbled forward, about to fall and pull his hanger on down with him, but Bao was there to catch hold and steady him. The man smiled and thanked him, and he just smiled and nodded and faded away into the crowd-the man's wallet in his hand. As soon as they lost sight of him he slipped down an alley to count his earnings.

On the one occasion he had been caught by the police, he had been lectured for a boring long time that thievery was no way to use the ancient art of Earthbending. During the time in which he had been on probation, forced to visit with a officer every week to make sure he wasn't falling back into his habits, there had even been some talk about getting him a proper Sifu as a way of teaching him discipline. But you need money for that, and the only money Bao had was what he stole and the minor cash gained from his older sister's job. And now he didn't even have that.

Ever since he could remember, Bao had been able to Bend, but only sporadically, and often randomly. As such, it had mostly only been an annoyance to him and his sister, causing minor damages around there apartment and misunderstandings with the other tenants. For years, he had been able only to pull up rough chunks of stone and immediately lose hold of them, until one day he had wandered onto the roof of the apartment building and caught sight of the huge house on the other side of the tall wall just a block away from his own home.

Drawn by the thought of someone living in a life so different from his own, he had snuck up to the side of the large wall, in awe at the size of the mansion, and heard voices coming from the other side. Climbing a nearby tree, he caught sight of a young girl, maybe ten years old, dressed well but comfortably inside the huge garden. There was an old, but powerful looking man with her, wearing traditional Earthbender garb. Bao watched, fascinated, and it became apparent he was instructing her in the ways of Earthbending, very carefully and slowly. She was obviously a beginner, but Bao watched with interest, trying to remember everything he said.

The lesson was over before he'd even gotten comfortable. His heart sinking, Bao sighed and dropped off the tree and fell back against the wall, bored. He was just about to head off to the train station to hop a ride when he heard the old man's voice carried on the wind, saying, "-again tomorrow at one o'clock." Bao smirked, and strode down the dirt alleyway, kicking at the dirt every few steps.

The next day he was there ahead of time, and he had hauled along with him a big piece of sheet metal which he propped between the branches, allowing him to sit or stand, and even copy the stances the little girl in the garden was going through. For an hour he watched and listened, though he could only hear when the wind blew his direction. This is pointless. A whiny voice in the back of his mind said. Your just a poor street kid. There's no way you can learn to Bend. This is boring and a waste of time. Just a few more minutes, then, and I'll go. He responded, again and again, and never got around to leaving.

About halfway through the lesson, he was standing up, perched on his tiny platform, legs spread in a horse stance, when the wind whipped up and he lost his balance. He flung out a hand and caught the nearest branch, but the metal beneath him lifted up by the wind, then slammed back down with a metallic clang. Bao dropped to the platform and held it down, huddling in silence, trying to still the frantic beating of his heart. He watched, eyes twitching, as the Earthbending master inclined his head ever so slightly towards Bao's hiding spot. Bao thought he saw a slight grin on the old man's face, but he turned back to his student and paid him no attention. He must have not seen me. Bao thought. He did notice though, that after that incident the old man always spoke twice as loud when demonstrating a new stance or form.

A lot of good it did me. Bao thought. For the next three years, Bao had struggled through his makeshift knowledge, completely aware that he was getting it all subtly wrong somehow, but knowing this was the closest he was going to get to actual training in his lifetime. He trained alone, in secret dirt lots and rooftops with broken chunks of concrete. He gave up wearing shoes years ago, and could, if he concentrated, feel tiny tremors rumbling through the earth when the trains passed by half a mile away. His Bending had become invaluable in his street thievery, though he was certain the old man would not approve if he knew. But after all of that practice and training, when the day had finally come that he could have used his gift for something substantial, his shaky skill had failed him.

His sister had been no one special. She didn't have any important friends, she didn't have any enemies. The thought was ridiculous. That didn't save her when the White Bands came to her door.

"Don't worry about me Bao. This will all be over soon. I promise." She had smiled confidently, and he had let himself hope. From his hiding place under the stairs, Bao had watched in terror as she had stood up to the men, shaking her head, refusing whatever it was they had come for. Bao's fist shook in fury, wishing he could at least hear what they were saying, when, suddenly, with no warning or comprehensible purpose, one of the men had reached casually into his pristine white suit and withdrew an ugly piece of black metal- a barrel, a trigger, a wheel full of bullets. Two loud blasts had rung through the air- he'd heard that quite clearly.

When they had gone, he had crawled out, his eyes dry for the simple fact that he could not believe what had happened, and fell to the floor beside her. He shook her, begged her to be alright, but there was no response, no final words, no last motivational speech against the hopelessness of life.

In the distance, the trains were pulling in.

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Okay, that's it for the prolouge. Chapters from here on out will probably be longer, and less introspective. Hope your liking it so far, let me know what you think.