"All right, that's enough for today."
David instantly collapsed, his muscles burning. Muscles he didn't even know existed were screaming in pain.
"You know, I think your backbend is getting a lot better," Katara said with a smile in her voice. David groaned in response. Over the last few days he had wondered whether Katara had invented some of these exercises out of pure spite.
"We'll start again tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Sifu." Katara insisted that the relationship between student and master should be formal, hence the title.
David had been training for almost a week and felt as if he was getting nowhere. Katara hadn't touched on the subject of waterbending at all, except to instruct him to severely limit his use of it until he had received formal instruction from her. Until then, Katara imposed a strict regimen of what she called "conditioning"; preparing his body and mind for the physical and mental stresses he would encounter throughout his training. He chafed at the restrictions, but understood the reasoning behind them, however grudgingly. Untrained, he could inadvertently cause great harm to someone. Like Ukiuk. After his humiliation at David's hands, the young man left for his home in the North, to everyone's relief. After being involved in a fight he probably wouldn't be allowed to come back. Of course, David wouldn't be able to walk away unpunished. Even though he had done what many would have classified as a public service by removing a malicious individual from the village, the South had to keep up appearances. So the chief decided that David would have to assist in the rebuilding of the village, nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Also, the chief told David privately that he regretted the need for such measures and that he appreciated the services rendered.
David made his way over to the construction site where he was to spend the rest of the day.
"Hey, Nanook!" Ugalik waved energetically. Amaruq was characteristically stoic.
David approached them slowly, trying to conserve his energy.
"Nanook, guess what I saw yesterday! It was a miniature snow spirit. It talked to me; it told me that-"
"Are you all right?" Amaruq interrupted Ugalik's chatter, eying David discerningly. "You look tired."
"More like exhausted. I can barely walk. Sifu Katara is very…thorough."
"Don't worry. It'll only get easier from here," said Ugalik sympathetically.
"He's right," said Amaruq. "I'm also a waterbender. I went through most of the same training. The beginning is always the hardest."
"I don't know what I'm doing." David sighed, his tone defeated. "I didn't even know I was a bender until last week, and now I'm ready to drop from training. I'm not even sure it's worth going through all this. Maybe I should just quit."
Amaruq grabbed his arm, she wore an intense expression. "You can't give up, Nanook."
"Why? What does all this give me? Nothing I'm doing is helping anyone! If anything, I'm taking time away from the most talented waterbender in the South!" David was almost yelling at this point. All the frustration accumulated over the last week was boiling over. Several workers glanced over at the commotion, but were reassured by Ugalik that everything was fine. "I'm not worth training, I'm nothing but a distraction."
"This isn't about you, Nanook! Stop thinking about yourself and look at the big picture. Think about how Katara feels. All her life she thought she was the only waterbender of her kind left. She learned to live with that. Now you come into her life and she has hope again; hope she hasn't felt her entire life. The whole South now has hope because of you. You are a symbol to them, a symbol of their culture reborn. Katara depends on you, she trusts you." Amaruq gave David a look that seemed to pierce his soul. "Don't you dare let her down."
David stood with his mouth hanging open slightly, shocked at the normally quiet girl's outburst.
"She's right, you know," Ugalik said. His assertion seemed rather weak compared to the preceding tirade.
She was right. David had been thinking selfishly. He meant a great deal to the South in general and to Katara in particular. The Southerners were his friends; more than that, they were family. He couldn't give up on them. David was getting an inkling of what Ben had been trying to tell him in his letter; of what it meant to be a Storyteller. He felt a warm sense of purpose kindle within him. He would see this through. For the sake of his family.
His determination must have shown on his face because Amaruq relaxed and smiled at him.
"Thank you," David said gratefully. "I needed that."
"Enough dawdling. Are you going to help us lift this beam or what?"
Settling into stance, David exhaled gently, clearing his mind. Focus. Note your surroundings. Arms loose. Ready to move. Hundreds of Katara's lessons raced through his unconscious mind, subtly altering his position. There was a slight irregularity in the ice to his left. He would have to avoid that; or maybe he could use it against his opponent.
"Are you ready?" Katara's voice drifted across the plain from where she stood several feet away.
David nodded, already launching into an attack; he had found that an aggressive approach early in the fight could catch her off guard. This wasn't the case today. Katara easily vaulted over his wild strike, launching a counterattack.
In all the years David spent training, he had never managed to defeat Katara in a fair duel. All of his victories thus far were attributed to dirty tricks on his part or bad luck on Katara's.
Legs bent. Constant motion. Most of his self-correction was unconscious by now, just like Katara said it would eventually be. It had taken years to get to that point.
Redirecting a blade of ice back at Katara, David instantly followed it up with a trick Amaruq had taught him. Noting where Katara was stepping, David caused a small fissure to form in the ice beneath her foot. Only Katara's battle-hardened reflexes saved her from tumbling to the ground.
A flurry of attacks left David off-balance. Katara was gaining the upper hand. David noticed a small hole in the ice where he was about to step. She was using his own tricks against him. He had to end this quickly.
David backpedaled, giving the impression that he was recovering from Katara's attacks. In reality, he was concentrating intensely, raising a small globe of water behind his back, making sure he was blocking Katara's line of sight to it. Bending without the proper movements and visual connection was fiendishly tricky. He had tried it out once out of curiosity, and had practiced it because of the challenge it presented. It seemed like it would serve him well in this fight.
He couldn't let her see the floating orb behind him; he needed the element of surprise.
Keeping the ball of water floating around the small of his back, David went on the offensive again. He held nothing back, pummeling Katara from every direction. With every blow he took a step closer. Katara generally tried to stop him from engaging physically; she knew it was his strong point. He hoped that the barrage of water and ice would keep her occupied long enough for him to get within physical striking range.
Finally managing to get close enough, David forced the fight into hand to hand combat. Katara was visibly falling back before his onslaught, but it wasn't enough. Katara would be able to hold her own long enough until she could find a way to steer the duel back into long range.
David didn't intend to give her the opportunity.
He stumbled. Or, at least, he seemed to. Katara jumped on the opening in a flash, swinging at his momentarily exposed side. David took the blow, grunting at the pain. At the same time the small orb swung around into his hand, adhering to it and solidifying into a bladed gauntlet which David jabbed toward Katara's unguarded throat.
The two waterbenders froze, panting, their breath misting in the frigid air and mingling together before rising to the heavens. The piercingly cold, razor sharp tip of the blade rested lightly in the hollow of Katara's throat.
"I yield." Katara broke the silence, backing away from David. "Very good," she said, still trying to catch her breath. "Very good."
Letting his improvised weapon melt and dissolve into the icy ground, David doubled up, heaving huge breaths. He hadn't pushed himself this hard for a long time.
"How did you know I wouldn't see through your feint?" Katara asked, recovering.
"I know you, Sifu," David said, trying to keep a self-satisfied grin from spreading onto his face. "Melee combat is my specialty. I had the upper hand. If I provided you with an opening, I knew you would jump on it without a second thought.
"That still was a risky ploy, though," Katara said. "I could have seen the water orb behind you."
"But you didn't, Sifu," David said cheekily, the smile breaking out onto his face. "I've been practicing moves like that for a long time." David's smile lessened. "Of course, I'll have to think of new tricks for next time."
"No."
"What?" What do you mean 'no'?"
"I'm convinced. I've been considering for a while and I've come to the conclusion that you have learned all you can from me."
"You mean…"
"You're not a master yet, if that's what you're wondering. You have a long way to go, but I've laid the groundwork for you. It's up to you now."
David stood stock still, his mouth hanging slightly open. He wrestled with the concept for a while, still trying to grasp it.
His expression must have been quite something because Katara burst out laughing. "Go on! You can celebrate. You've earned it." Her smile became warm. "You've made me proud."
Overcoming his astonishment, David brought his hands together in a respectful gesture. "Sifu Katara," he said, bowing formally. Katara mirrored his gesture. "What will you do now?"
David wasn't prepared for the question. He scrambled to find a believable answer. "I…guess I'll go home," he said, the lies flowing from his tongue with sickening ease. "My family will be glad to see me after years of only letters." There were, of course, no letters. He let Katara think that there were in order to stave off suspicion.
He hated it.
The answer seemed to satisfy her, however. "When will you leave?"
"Early tomorrow morning. No sense in putting it off."
"I'll miss you, Nanook. Spirits guide you"
"Likewise."
"Are you sure you have everything you need?" Ugalik asked anxiously.
"I'm fine, Ugalik," said David, slightly exasperated. "I have more than enough supplies."
Getting married and becoming a father had done little to dampen Ugalik's seemingly boundless enthusiasm. It had come to a surprise to no one when he and Amaruq had announced their engagement. There had been clear signs from the beginning. David remembered the ceremony well. Amaruq's parents had come down from the North to give their blessing to the union.
The young couple had been David's surrogate family during his stay. He slept in their igloo, ate their food and always had a willing ear to listen to his problems. In return he did a fair amount of chores around the household. One of the happiest days in their family was the birth of little Ila. She was already two years old. She had always referred to David as "Big Brother Nanook" when she spoke of him. David had felt a warm glow in his stomach and had to wipe away a tear when she had said it for the first time.
Many good memories were made here. They made David reluctant to go, but he had to continue his journey through this strange land and puzzle out why he was here and what his role was in this story.
He turned to wave to Amaruq. She was bearing Ila on her hip and a rare smile on her lips. She waved back, prompting Ila to imitate her.
Swallowing past a lump in his throat, David turned his back on the South Pole.
Not wanting to prolong the bittersweet parting, he hurried toward the newly reconstructed dock to join the daily ferry to the Earth Kingdom mainland.
He was very curious about this metalbending academy he had heard so much about.
A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this up. From now on the tentative schedule is one chapter every Friday. I hope I'll be able to keep up with that. Have a happy new year!
Disclaimer: Avatar the Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon.
P.S. reviews are welcome. I don't bite hard.