I'm currently having some problems with the word documents so I can't edit like I normally could. I'll try and copy the things that look like paragraph codes to continue writing. So if the story looks like a big block of texts, sorry but it is truly out of my control and I'll fix it when I can.
But for now, I'd like to thank my reviewers. You guys sure gave me a shock when I woke up one morning to suddenly find twelve reviews! The first thing that came into my mind was 'Oh no, what did I do?' so it was a pleasant surprise to find wonderful reviewers that supports me and gave me much appreciated advice!
Thank you to True Thinker for showing great enthusiasm while reading my story. Your energy just motivates me to continue writing so thank you for that! I would also like to point out that this story is probably going to be slow because I want to explore a moment or scene so Toph will sadly come a lot later in this story.
Thank you bucketbot for reading all the way to my latest chapter despite having different taste. Thank you for the encouragement!
Thank you algebra123230 for the advice and pointing out the flaws that I need to work on. Yeah, the tenses have always been a problem for me. In this chapter, I'm focusing on present tense and hope it's okay. I feel a little odd writing like this but this is the tense I want to write in. It's definitely difficult because I always need to change the sentence structure to work in present tense. This is also the first time I'm hearing the word 'Colloquial'! I had to google it to figure out what it means! Although I don't fully understand it, I think I some what understand it. I hope, haha!
Now, on to the story that I'm writing while the document editing page is buggy.
My eyes are shut tight, seeing nothing but darkness that I'm sure it will be the last thing I see.
I wait for the inevitable slide of slime that will lead me down to the stomach of the monster.
My heart beats anxiously as I hear a wind blowing around me, convincing me that I am still falling.
I can hear the Unagi snarling through it's mouth.
I can hear Aang's heartbeat as I hold onto him for dear life.
Hearing so much life going around me, I crack my eyes open in curiosity.
"I...was trying to make an air ball to stop us from falling but..."Aang starts as he watch the jaws above us struggle to lower itself. "Instead, I accidentally made a barrier..."
"How does one accidentally make a barrier? I doubt this is something that can be accidental!" I said as I gestured to the ball of air that protects us from the jaws of death.
The Unagi attempts to clench its jaws to break our barrier but only manages to shrink the ball by just a little. It starts to swerve left, right, up, and down as it tries use the momentum to force his jaws close. Both of us scream as the Unagi's plan is frighteningly working. The continues swerving causes Aang to lose focus, making our air barrier shrink smaller and smaller.
Aang tries to explain himself in hurried panic, "I don't know! I just kept feeling an extra push of energy making whatever I've been trying to do much stronger!"
"Then shoot us out of here and hope it continues to push us back to shore!" I snap back as I watch the upper and lower row of teeth getting closer to each other.
The ball is definitely slowly closing in on us. If we don't move, we're definitely gonna be Unagi chow!
"Hold on! This is going to get bumpy!"
"Aang! We're in the middle of the sea! How is it going to get bumpy!?" I screech but was ignored as Aang raise his hands into the air. He look out of the gap between the jaws, straining to see the shore but the Unagi was moving too erratically for him to aim properly.
In a desperate attempt to help and to just make the Unagi stop for one second, I claw at the Unagi's tongue, causing the monster to flinch at the stinging pain. In the Unagi's temporary stunned status, Aang manages to spot the shore and clap his hands, sending a burst of air that shoots us out of the Unagi's mouth right before it snaps shut.
We scream as we feel ourselves flying through the air and slowly heading downwards. After creating a second ball around us, Aang holds me tightly against him protectively and I continue to hold on as we both brace from impact. The ball hits the water but instead of either sinking or floating like I expected, we end up skipping off the body of water. That one impact breaks the ball and sends us flying back onto shore. The force of our landing causes us to release our hold and roll off each other.
"I feel like I'm having a de ja vu..."I groan as I force myself off the ground. I take a quick moment to look around us. We have landed much more to the side of the shore where the earth is more solid and where trees are starting growing to form a forest.
I shift my eyes to the sea and feel another wave of panic rising within me, "Watch out!"
I quickly grab the groaning Aang from the ground and pull him behind a big rock. I didn't have the energy to handle him gently so I toss him to the ground, causing him to fall on his knees while I lean back to the rock. Aang would have protested against the rough treatment but with the effect of facing the Unagi still fresh in his mind, his numb body hardly felt a thing. The both of us curl into a ball behind the rock just as the Unagi shot another powerful jet of water towards the rock that shields us.
Aang and I peak over the rock once the attack has stopped to watch the Unagi roar and spew water in a fit at random directions before diving back into the ocean.
We sigh with relief.
But the peace was short lived.
"Oh no...Ooooooooh no..."I groan as I slide my back down the rock.
"Fire nation...I think it's Zuko!" Aang solidifies the fact that I was trying so hard to wish that it was just all of my imagination before returning to the safety of the rock.
I'm wet and I'm cold. My body already feels so drained from the Unagi's attack that I just...don't want to move anymore. Yet, I continue to shiver from the cold that continues to use up more of my energy.
I turn to the sound of teeth chattering coming from my left to find Aang attempting to keep himself warm by curling tightly into a ball. His hands are gripping his pale arms tightly and running his hands up and down to create some warmth. I quickly move to his side and wrap my arms around him. My sleeves have been released from the elbow length fold I had folded them in before during the Unagi's attack. The water in my wide sleeves are cold, causing Aang to flinch but soon his teeth chattering has become less violent as he leans into my warmth.
"Where on earth are your clothes!?" I hissed through clenched teeth, trying to keep my own teeth from chattering.
Aang and I can hear the boat hitting the sand of the shore.
Aang quickly responds, "Behind the trees on the other side of the shore. I didn't want the girls to watch me undress to I hid behind the trees."
I can only grin and give a shaky breath of a chuckle. I didn't mean for it to be so weak but being cold and afraid would not let me have full control over my body. Aang grins back when he realizes that it does sound kind of funny.
Both of us quickly force ourselves still when we hear the sound of the sand and snow being crushed by a weight that sounds very heavy. Our grins immediately falls off our face as we focus all of our energy into our hearing, hoping the sound of heavy footsteps would not come towards us.
"Bring me the Avatar. I know he's somewhere around here." I hear an unfamiliar voice speak out. It confuses me why the voice sounds like it's coming from a height higher than the ground. And I doubt that Zuko is that tall as I remember the description I was given.
Heavy footsteps proceed to march onward. Aang removes my arms from his shoulders so he could turn and peak over the rocks. Not wanting to be left in the dark, I follow Aang's lead.
We saw a group of fire nation soldiers riding on komodo rhino's walking up the shore and headed to the direction of the Kyoshi village. I expected more soldiers so I am kind of surprised to see only a small group of men. I could not get a good look at the soldiers' faces since it's covered by some face armor that reminds me of skulls. It creeps me out a little that I actually know what a real life skull looks like. Only one guy at the front leading the group did not have the mask on but the helmet created a shadow that cloaks his face.
Neither of us made a sound as we wait for them to pass us and continue to further on ahead to build some distance before either of us draw in a breath of relief.
"What now?" I ask Aang as he left his knees and onto a crouching form.
"I'll go get my clothes. You wait for me. We'll head to the village together." Aang says before he leaves the safety of the rock.
"Your highness," One of the soldiers suddenly call out. Suddenly feeling the rising fear of getting caught, Aang quickly leaps over the rock and leans against it, nearly hitting me in the process if I had not dodge. We remain hidden behind the rocks while the enemy continue to converse. "Look."
I resist myself from looking over the rocks, fearing that if I do, I would be facing the the enemy that might be looking straight at us. Aang, on the other hand, peaks over. I can't imagine how Aang is not petrified like me despite being so close to getting caught.
"Hmm...This is just a normal pair of black shoes. Leave it. It probably belongs to a forgetful villager. Let's move."
The sound of the heavy footsteps washes relief and comfort over me as soon as I heard it. As soon as Aang was sure they were not going to turn, he dashes out to the open shore. I anxiously look over the rock to watch Aang run across the shore without making a single noise. Paying close attention to his feet, I did not see any air shifting beneath them with the use of his airbending to softens his footstep. It amazes me at how light-footed he naturally is.
None of the fire nation even notice him sneaking behind them.
I sigh in relief and continue my rest behind the rocks as I wait for Aang to return.
"Should we really be wasting energy on running when we're heading straight for battle?" I ask between pants as we ran to the village. My clothes no longer contain the extra weight of water thanks to Aang. But because he had to airbend the water off of me, my hair became disheveled in the process.
"We've got no other choice. My glider can't hold two people. It's only meant for one." Aang explains as he gestures to the staff in his hand.
"Are you saying I'm heavy?" I ask, slightly offended.
"What?" Aang blurts as he is caught off guard by the accusation. "No! I just don't think that I can keep us afloat! I've never shared a glider with someone before."
Skeptically, I look at him straight in the eyes and lay down some facts, "You've created a giant ball in the jaws of an Unagi and kept us alive, shot us out of there flying, and skipped off the sea like we were rock skipping but instead we were the rocks."
"Yeah but I already told you! There was some sort of energy flowing into me. I didn't know what was going on or where it came from but I can feel that it's not here anymore." A flustering Aang explains as he shrugs with his hands in the air, clearly having no clear answer.
"Try again." I urge.
"But-!" Aang resists.
"Try." I insist.
Looking into my determine eyes, Aang just knows that I am not backing down until I am proven wrong with real facts and not with some speculation. Soon, he slows his running into a jog and then he completely stops.
"Alright. But we will try to jump from the ground first. I don't want to accidentally break my staff." Aang says as he unwillingly spread the wings of his glider.
Setting the glider behind him, he position his limbs and then signals to me, "Grab the area next to my hands."
"Okay." I comply and carefully set my hands on the wood, making sure I get a good grip.
"Not too hard!" Aang alarms to reminds me to not use too much strength and accidentally break it.
"Okay! Geez, I'm not that strong alright?" I say, momentarily forgetting the times I had broken some wood with my bear hands. My desk at school and the window sill back at home.
But there's no reason for Aang to know as it would just make him worry even more.
"Ready?" Aang asks and we shift our feet, ready to jump into the sky. "Jump!"
As soon as our feet left the ground, Aang airbends a burst of air beneath us to send us into the air. We manage to reach about the same height as the trees before slowly descending back onto the ground.
"See?" Aang enforces his point that two people can not ride share a glider.
"No, try harder! I know you can do better than this." I plea with my hands remaining on the gilder, refusing to let go. "If we can do this, we can get there faster."
"Wan! We don't have time for this!" Aang argues as he moves away from the glider. "Zuko must have reached Kyoshi village by now and-"
"Please."I calmly look into Aang's frantic eyes. "Trust me."
The both of us have a silent battle of will. It feels odd on how easy it is to read each other's thoughts just by looking into each other's eyes. Aang just wants to get to the village as soon as possible. Zuko threatened the entire water tribe the last time they met. Aang could pray all he wants but he just knows that Zuko wont be so merciful next time. But this troublesome girl in front of him, oh troublesome me, just will not settle for running when we could be flying to Kyoshi village. It will save time and energy if we would just keep trying.
Aang finally breaks and release an annoyed sigh, "Fine."
I grin cheerfully as I take a few steps closer to him, holding up the glider for him to hold on.
"I'll try to have a running start this time. It should make it easier to fly than just jumping." Aang suggests as he face his back towards the glider and grabs on.
"Yes, yes, yes." I agree as I nod eagerly.
"Wrap your legs around my waist, I can't run like this." Aang says as he pulls my upper body down by lowering his stance as he prepares himself for a run.
"Can you really run with me on your back?" I ask as I carefully try to wrap my legs around him without jumping onto him, worrying that he might accidentally stumble because of it.
"Yeah, I'm stronger than I look. I'm a trained monk after all. And a master airbender to boot!" Aang boasts as he turns to look at me through the gaps of the glider's wings, confidence finally gleaming in his eyes before he throws my words back at me, "Trust me."
I return a look of support as I try to get more comfortable. It's not as easy as I thought it would be since I have a long vertical piece of wood pressing against my body. Sadly, it seems I will never be fully comfortable a I feel time rushing me to get to Kyoshi village as soon as possible so I just settle with the level of comfort I have now.
"Okay!"
"And...here we go!" Aang grunts as he tries to get his running momentum going.
I feel even more uncomfortable when the running starts as it causes my body and the spine of the glider to continuously collide painfully. All I could do now is to tighten the grip of my legs around Aang's waist and press my face against the glider's spine, minimizing the bumping as much as I can.
Aang pants as he runs forward with all of his might. Once he feels that he has enough momentum, he takes the first jump. We manage to fly above the trees, almost doubling the height we did before.
"I...felt it! The energy!" Aang exclaims but we are hardly gliding as we slowly descend back to the ground.
"We're almost there! We flew up way higher this time!" I encourage and I continue to silently pray for this to work. "We can do this!"
"Yeah. Let's do this again!" Aang says spiritedly before his stumbles to continue running once his feet touches the ground.
He sprints forward as he gathers more air around him. I can even feel his liveliness from his airbending, feeding me more hope of this succeeding if we keep trying. Our eyes remain focus on our goal, the sky high up above us like our expectations.
"Let's..." Aang starts, bending the air to give him more speed in his run. I can even feel the glider lifting just a little bit.
We are both eager and anxious for this stunt to work. Our hopes blend into one and we can feel our energy mixing together as we yell in unison, "Go!"
What I see next is a blur. A blur of white and brown that grows further away from us from below.
It was the ground. The snow white ground and leafless trees zooming past below us.
Neither of us says a thing as we stare at the ground, wondering if it's just an illusion. And if it isn't, we're waiting for the eventual fall.
But we remain gliding in the air.
"...We did it." Aang breaths out in disbelief, snapping me out of my daze and allow me to fully embrace this moment.
"We did it!" I exclaim cheerfully.
But the moment is short-lived as the view of the earth starts to change.
"Oh! Oh no! Whoa!" Aang screams as he tries to keep control of the glider but it persists to point downwards to the ground.
The air resistance pushes my upper body from the glider's spine, forcing me to get a good look despite my efforts not to. I feel myself starting to panic as I see nothing but the cold, hard ground waiting eagerly for us. I can't even find it in myself to look away as I beg for Aang to save us in one way or another. It was only when I can't open my mouth or find my voice did I realize I have been shell-shocked with fear.
Aang sucks in some air and bends it so that it would send him back into straight gliding formation but instead it sends us further upwards into the air.
"Not again!" Aang whines as history repeats itself. "Don't worry, Wan! I can do this! I can do this! I'm a fast learner so I should be able to balance this quickly."
"You better! And by the way, Aang, this is a bumpy ride!" I cry as we start to descend once again only for Aang to send us upwards again but less upright and more forward.
Our cries of worry will sound once in a while as we continue to slide upwards and downwards in the air, slowly but eventually getting a little more control.
"There! I can see Kyoshi village!" Aang points out the village not far from here. Even from where we are, we can see the Fire Nation soldiers seated on the komodo rhinos.
"Why are they just...standing there?" I question the questionable action of the enemy. I squint my eyes to get a better look as I suspect that I'm probably missing something. No enemy would just stand there and do nothing.
"I don't know but count that as a blessing that they have not attack yet. We might be able to settle this without anyone getting hu-Uuuuh!" Aang's sentence got cut off by his own screaming as we start to descend once again.
"Up, up, up!" I chant as I pull the gilder up back into position in an attempt to save us. With the help of Aang, the glider manages to glide normally but downward towards the village.
"Just a little more!" Aang pleas.
We watch as the closer we get to Kyoshi village, the closer we are to the ground.
All was going smoothly until we realize that we're flying straight towards the Fire Nation soldiers. I'm kind of hoping that they would just suddenly notice us and move out of the way themselves but they remain oblivious to our oncoming presence.
"Look out!" Aang alerts the enemy as we're about to hit them.
The soldiers turn in curiosity but quickly ducks to avoid getting their heads possibly knocked off as the two of us narrowly glide right over them. The only thing that got hurt was a single helmet from the soldier at the very front of the group.
"Avatar!" A rough voice calls out as Aang stumbles the landing.
Aang turns toward Zuko, allowing me protection while I carefully release my hold of Aang's waist from my numb legs. The scare from the flight manage to scare all feelings from my body, causing me to wobble before I can release my hold of Aang's glider without falling onto my knees.
"Zuko." Aang greets as he falls into his battle stance. I look up in curiosity to see who this Zuko person is like and if he resembles how he was described to me.
At the very front of the small group of Fire Nation soldiers, a young teen sits on a komodo rhino. Zuko is the only one without a helmet and it's probably because we're the ones who knocked it off in the first place. This allows me to have a better look and he looks exactly like how he was described to me.
A teen with no hair on his head except for a dark brown ponytail that looks a little messy, like he does not have the time to maintain it or has more important things to do other than take care of his hair. A face that looks like it has been frozen in a scowl for years. Despite having a good distance between us, his gold eyes still manages to glow as it focus intensely on the prize ahead of him.
And the most noticeable feature of all, a horrible burn on his left eye.
It occupies almost a third of his face. An uneven skin tone where the area around the eye is darker than the rest of the burn. His entire face looks off without an eyebrow to match the other un-burnt half of his face. The skin with the lighter burn has formed layers on his cheek, as if the skin was melting off of his face but still manages to hold on. The left eye looks like it could not open anymore than the slit it is already in, forever freezing the eye to a eternal glare. I guess that he was burned while his eyes were closed because it looks like his left eyeball is just fine.
During my analysis on Zuko's appearance, Aang notices silhouettes appearing on the roofs. Zuko and half of his men dismount the komodo rhino and stand side by side with their weapons at ready. Only Zuko is bare-handed with his fist raised in front of him. I'm the only one who's absolutely defenseless and not ready for battle. The only one with no experience in fighting whatsoever. I take a step back, worrying about the worst possibilities that could happen to me if I don't think of something quick.
But time's up.
"Attack!" The Fire Prince announce the start of the battle.