Avatar: The Last Airbender

The Path of the Ronin

Chapter 4: Oh, we're off to see the Guild, the wonderful Guild of Ronin!

"Why don't you wait for awhile to try jumping with a destination?" Alera suggested. "I—I think that I can create a big enough sand scooter for two people. But you'd have to hold on tight."

Tsuriai tried to hide his excitement by acting bored. "Umm…well—"

"Or we could just walk, if you want," she interrupted quickly, "I understand if you aren't comfortable riding with me—I mean, like, with a sandbender, you know. So, well, let's—"

"No, no, no, I mean, sure, I'll ride this sand scooter thing…with you. I mean, how bad can it be?" Tsuriai smiled at Alera. She smiled back. Her straight, white teeth shined like pearl and her auburn hair waved in the breeze.

"Okay. Come on over here," she instructed. "Come behind me, cross your arms around my waist and when I say go, lift your feet off the air." He wrapped his arms around her.

"I would say don't get any ideas, but you probably already have." She said, smiling wryly, and Tsuriai just stuttered and loosened his grip a little. "Just don't get used to this, I'm hoping you'll learn how to jump properly soon."

"Now I warn you, I haven't really mastered landing with another person, so you will probably fall off when we get there. Ready? Okay! 1…2—"

"—WAIT!" Tsuriai cried. "I forgot my stuff." Tsuriai ran back to go collect his pack and his staff, returned, and for a second time, he put his arms around her, acting a little more reluctant this time. And to add to the effect he said, "Let's get this over with."

"Okay. Ready? 1…2…3…GO!!!"

Tsuriai lifted his feet off the air and immediately an impenetrable pocket of air developed below both of them. He kneeled down on it and tried to keep his balance. He took this as an excuse to tighten his hold. Alera saw through his excuse and set off quickly.

Soon, they were zooming across the plain, kicking up loads of dust behind them. It settled quickly, though; it seemed that Alera was keeping it under control as well as speeding them along. The wind whipped across his face and body, and he had to hold on even tighter. Tsuriai could not see, but Alera smiled a little.

Within 5 minutes, Tsuriai could see the hill. Within 5 seconds of seeing the hill, they were right next to it. Alera decelerated quickly, and the sand scooter vanished before they were at a standstill. Tsuriai had not let go; he didn't expect the scooter to vanish so quickly; the result was Alera lost her balance and Tsuriai fell on top of her.

He got off quickly and said, "Sorry! I didn't know you were going to do that. I didn't mean to—"

"It's all right. You're fine. But don't expect to do that again." "…soon," she added, under her breath.

"Okay. Well, anyway, I'm guessing that the majority of your, um, headquarters is underground."

"You guessed it. Come on in!" He entered, and he was actually surprised to see a pair of couches surrounding a rug, and a small fireplace to the side. That was it.

Tsuriai was confused. "But I thought you said—"

"—I did." She interjected, giving him another smile. "Would you do me a favor and lift up that rug?" Tsuriai looked up. "Ahhhhh….I get it."

Tsuriai lifted up the rug and saw…the ground. He stared at it, waiting.

"Uh, Tsuriai? It seems that you're going to have to, um, well, we'll get to that part in a second. Okay, I'm going to stand right here," She stood where the rug was, "and you come right here. I'm sorry, but my earthbending is not very good, so it's going to be tight."

Tsuriai stood right in front of her, so that they were almost nose to nose. Tsuriai got goose bumps.

"Just…stand still, okay?" she asked nervously. They descended slowly, the earth moving like an elevator beneath them.

The walls were soon very close. They tried to avoid eye contact, but at one point in time, they caught each other's eyes. They quickly looked away, and Tsuriai hit his head against the cylindrical wall. Alera smiled again, this time looking away.

Finally, they stopped.