"Aang…" a beautiful voice called out in the dark. "Aang…" The small boy was filled with a very warm sensation what made him strangely happy. His mouth curved up into a goofy smile and his eyelids shut tighter. "Open your eyes Aang….open…" But Aang didn't want to and he was the Avatar, so he didn't have to…
"Aang…" But the voice didn't give up, it only got louder. "Stand up Aang…" He grunted in response and hoped that the voice would leave. "Avatar Aang…Wake up." The voice commanded. Aang groaned in anger and unwillingly popped one eye open.
"AAHHH!!" Aang was hurtling straight towards the ground. He quickly blew an air current at the ground. It slowed him down enough to land softly on his face. He lifted his head slightly and a pair of ancient sandals came into view.
"Good morning Aang. It's time to start training." Rei said cheerily. Aang rolled onto his back and expected to get blinded by the light, but there was almost no light to speak of.
"But it's still dark out!" Aang protested childishly which caused Rei to laugh.
"Yes, but there is no rule that forbids training in the dark." Rei responded. Aang sighed and slowly stood up. At first the only thing that he could see was Rei.
She wasn't wearing Zuko's cloak anymore and in its place was a very strange outfit. It was a dark plum colored sleeveless robe with golden lining. The top had very thick straps and the bottom reached to her knees. Underneath the bottom was a pair of black long shorts that were semi-visible because of the robes part in the middle. A dark grey oval tube-top-like breast plate that also had golden lining was over the robe. Finally, there was a thick purple sash that wrapped around the plate and tied in the back, with the extra sash material falling all the way down to the back of Rei's knees. She was sporting a pair of black fingerless gloves and the old sandals. Her soft white hair was up in a twist with a long pony-tail coming from it. Overall, she looked very pretty.
"Come Aang, you have much to learn and a short time to learn it." Rei said as she turned on her heel and walked through the temple. Aang looked around and realized that he was no longer in his usual sleeping spot, which was on top of Appa. Someone…or something had moved him… But Aang was a very light sleeper…and Appa would have woken up…
"Hey!" He called as he ran to catch up to Rei, who was walking towards the forest. "Where are we going?"
"To train Aang." Rei responded with another laugh. Aang rubbed the back of her head and they continued in silence. After about ten minutes of silent walking, or wandering as Rei had never been in the forest before, the two came to a stop in front of a Giant tree. The sun was just rising and the light made the night's dew sparkle beautifully.
"Let's stop here Aang." Rei said as she gazed up at the tree. Aang bowed to her and then took a seat on one of the tree's twisting roots. Rei hopped up the thick base of the tree and turned to face Aang. "Ok Aang, I decided that we should start with a sort of introduction."
"Ok…" Aang eyed Rei cautiously. "Ummm…I'm Aang…a monk from the Air nomads and…"
"No, no." Rei interrupted with a giggle. "I mean…I want to explain to you what exactly your job is." Aang furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, what he was about to hear was very important…
"Look at this tree Aang. It is very much like the Avatar…"
"I'm a tree?"
"……No, you're an air bender." Rei put her hand on the tree's bark and closed her eyes. She continued with out opening them. "The tree requires many things to grow… It needs the earth to place its roots in. It needs the sun to give it light so it can grow. It needs the rain waters to help it live strong. And it needs the wind to spread its seeds in order to create many more beautiful trees.
All four elements in one single being. Very much like the Avatar. But the tree also needs a strong balance in order to survive. If there is too much rain, the tree will drown. If there is too much earth, it cannot get rooted. If there is too much sun it will wither. And if there is too much air, it will bend." She opened her eyes and turned to look at Aang, who was watching her intently.
"The tree needs balance to remain strong. And when it is strong, it can give back. The tree fertilizes the ground for more plants and it gives oxygen back to the air. It stored water for animals and it provides shade for everyone. A constant cycle of giving and taking."
"And, you will teach me how to…give and take?" Rei chuckled again as she looked to the tree.
"In a way, yes. By learning to balance the four bending elements you will become stronger, like the tree." She turned to him with a smile. "And with this balance you will be able to learn how to control the final elements."
Aang opened his mouth to question her when a loud growling interrupted him. His stomach was empty and screaming for food. Rei laughed loudly and walked towards Aang.
"Perhaps it's time to eat?" She offered him a hand and helped him to his feet.
"Thanks Rei." Aang gave her a big smile before the two set off in search of food.
A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A
Aang was sitting in a meditative pose with his eyes closed and his back touching the base of the giant tree. He had been in that position for hours, as Rei had instructed, While she explained more things about balance and what he would be doing. After a few hours however, Rei left him alone so he could get focused. Rei was now filling a small bag with apples and other fruits that the two had found on their breakfast safari. Once she was done stuffing the bag, she found an empty plot of dirt and pushed a seed into the ground. Using a little dew water, Rei moistened the digging spot. She then stood up and walked in front of Aang.
"Alright Aang, I think we're good for now. Let's head back before the others think that I've stolen the Avatar!" Aang opened his eyes and nodded at his teacher. Using a bit of air bending, he shot himself to his feet and walked back through the forest with Rei. It took them a shorter time to reach the temple than it did to leave and they arrived in the fountain room to find everyone else already up. Sokka was brooding over a map, Katara and Zuko were training separately, and Toph and Suki were just hanging out. Everyone paused and looked up as Rei and Aang entered the room.
"Hi everyone!" Aang greeted them. Looked at Rei for a second, "We brought fruits!" Rei smiled as she emptied her bag out near the fountain.
"Well, it's almost lunch anyway. Let's eat." Katara suggested to everyone, who grunted with their approval. Soon, the gang sitting in their circle, happily munching on sandwiches. Rei stuck to eating the fruits.
"So, what did you two do this morning?" Suki asked Aang and Rei.
"We were training in the forest." Rei answered and then proceeded to take a huge bite out of her apple.
"Really? What time did you leave? I didn't feel anything this morning…" Toph said. Rei chewed on her apple piece for a bit in thought.
"It was about two hours before sunrise." Silence was her response as they all stared at her, even Aang was shocked. "I haven't adjusted to the sleeping habits yet…"
"How was it Aang?" Katara asked.
"It was very…enlightening." He responded wisely. Sokka looked at the apple in Rei's hand.
"Hey, Rei, don't you want a sandwich? Katara's cooking isn't that bad…"
"If you have a problem with my cooking Sokka then…"
"It's ok." Rei interrupted smoothly. "But I don't eat meat; I've met too many animal spirits." She explained.
"Aang's a vegg-head too. Don't worry, we always have extra greens around." Sokka replied as he took a huge bite out of his sandwich.
"Umm…thank you…" Rei said awkwardly, causing everyone to laugh. The rest of the lunch was spent on everyone explaining their past to Rei. Everyone but Zuko gave her a very in-dept overview of their past. Zuko merely explained that he was the Fire Lord's son.
"Come on Zuko! You gotta give Rei a bit more than that! She should know about you chasing us!" Sokka joked causing Zuko to scratch his head.
"It's not that important…" He said as he looked out at the receding light. They had been talking for a long time. It was almost dark.
"Of course it's important!" Katara said with a laugh. "You were our greatest enemy!" This caught Rei's attention.
"Enemies?"
"Yeah," Aang explained, "A year ago, it was Zuko's life goal to capture me and give me to the fire nation." Rei looked at the scarred prince in astonishment but he did not meet her eyes.
"He chased us all over the world!" Katara said.
"Yeah, him and his cool uncle." Toph added.
"Remember that time he found us at Kyoshi?"
"How could I forget?" Suki responded sarcastically giving everyone a huge laugh, everyone but Zuko... He stood up while they were recalling what had happened and walked out onto the terrace. Rei watched him leave with worry and soon got up to join him.
"Where are you going Rei?" Aang asked suddenly.
"Just to get some air…" They began a new story as she silently walked away. She found Zuko hunched over the railing looking out into the afternoon sky. Rei walked over and leaned her back against the railing so they were facing opposite directions.
"Having fun?" He asked quietly.
"Yes. Your friends are very humorous."
"You're part of the group now; they're your friends too." Rei smiled.
"Then I find Sokka slightly idiotic." This got Zuko to smile a little, which made Rei strangely happy. It was silent for many moments until Rei spoke again.
"Zuko, I know nothing about your past nor will I push for any information, but it doesn't matter. Who you were in the past is not who you are now or who you will be in the future. And nothing I learn about your past could ever darken my idea of you." Zuko turned his head and looked straight at Rei., and she looked back with a slight smile. He continued to stare at her until he finally decided that she was telling the truth and he turned out again.
"So…What is your idea of me?"
"I don't know enough about you for it to be any good." Rei laughed.
"Well, give me a sample." He said with a smile. She sighed comically.
"You are a tall male with dark hair and pale skin whose fire bending is at a very high level of skill…and you are the teacher to the Avatar."
"That's not a lot to go on…"
"I haven't known you for a full 24 hours yet"
"That was long enough to steal my cloak…" He joked lightly. Rei looked at him in confusion.
"….your cloak… Your CLOAK!" Rei yelled suddenly, causing Zuko to jump.
"What is it?!" Rei was racing towards the door to the fountain room.
"I still have your cloak! I must return it!"
"It's ok…" He attempted to assure her, but she was already gone. With one last look out at the dimming light, the Fire prince returned into the fountain room.
"Where did Rei run off to?" Toph asked when Zuko reentered the room. But before he could answer a great crashing sound filled the room.
"Oh boy, a klutz…" Sokka sighed.
"I'll go see if she's ok." Katara said as she stood up. Within a few steps Katara was at the open path that led to Rei's room and was about to leave when Rei's voice sounded clearly.
"Sorry I was so slow! I ran into a wall…" Rei explained to the group. They were staring at Rei in shock…but, it wasn't the entire Rei. It was just her upper half clutching onto Zuko's bundled up robe. She was walking through the wall to Katara's left…
"WOAH!" Katara yelled as Rei's bottom half walked through the solid wall. Rei walked over to Zuko and held out the dark bundle for him to take, but he just stood there with wide eyes.
"What?" Rei asked in confusion. Sokka was pointing a finger at her and attempting to speak.
"You…you….walked…..wall…but…"
"YOU WALKED THROUGH THE WALL!" Katara yelled from her spot in the doorway. Rei turned to face her cautiously. "LIKE IT WASN'T EVEN THERE!!"
"Yes…"
"How did you do that?!" Suki asked loudly.
"Yeah! I should have felt you coming in the room! It was like you weren't even there!!" Toph added; Aang just stared at her in shock.
"You were…cut in half…" Zuko said. Rei looked at the shocked faces of her friends and couldn't help it. She began to giggle, which turned into a chuckle, which turned into an all out laugh.
"No, no!" She explained as she tried to stop laughing. "I'm fine! Please don't be so surprised. That was just a bit of bending!" Rei then looked to her friends expecting that to clear everything up, but they only got looked more confused.
"What?!"
"Bending…"
"I've never seen something like that before!"
"I couldn't feel you!!"
"That's because I projected myself through the wall." Rei explained.
"What kind of bending does that?" Zuko asked.
"You're a bender?!" This was from Aang, which silenced everyone else.
"Of course I am." Rei said with furrowed eyebrows; their confusion at her was making her confused. "I would not be here if I was not fully equipped to survive."
"Why didn't you tell us before?!" Sokka demanded to know.
"You didn't ask." Rei responded quietly, causing everyone to frown. They hadn't asked Rei anything about herself.
"What type of bending is it?" Zuko was the first to speak.
"In this language it would be called light bending."
"You can bend the light?" Toph asked in astonishment.
"Yes, and the dark also." Silence filled the room as they all attempted to let this information sink in.
"Can you show us?" Suki asked suddenly. Rei was about to decline when she looked around the group at their curious and excited faces.
"I can show you a little bit…" With that, Rei began to shrink. She didn't actually get smaller; her body was sinking into the floor. She sunk until she disappeared from view. Rei slowly phased up out of the floor behind a stone pillar and was unseen by her friends.
"Where did she go?" Katara asked with glee. Toph put her hand on the same spot that Rei had just phased into and a frustrated look fell upon her face.
"I can't feel her!"
"That's because I'm not in the ground any more." Rei explained as she came into view. The others stared at her in amazement as she swiftly joined the circle again.
"I'm guessing that was light bending." Zuko said once Rei sat down and she nodded with a smile.
"Then what is dark bending?" Aang asked.
"Toph, can you give me a rock?" Rei asked with a sigh. Toph smacked her foot on the ground and a skinny stone pillar shot out of the ground. Rei took two deep breaths and then focused intently at the stone pillar. She then brought her right hand straight down in one swift motion. Everything was silent until a great cracking noise was heard. A giant black crack formed down the rock column and it split in two. The two sections began to fall to the ground when Rei brought both of her hands forward. With a great sweeping motion the rock turned pitch black and disappeared into nothing. Silence…
"That…was…AMAZING!!" Katara squealed with delight.
"The coolest bending by far!" Sokka said earning him glares from the other benders.
"Could you teach someone how to do that?" Aang asked.
"No," Rei shook her head.
"Why not?" Zuko asked. "That kind of skill would be very helpful in battle."
"Yeah! Sinking into the ground to avoid an attack, just to pop up behind them and…"
"No!" Rei interrupted loudly. "I cannot teach this because it cannot be learned. To be able to light or dark bend you have to be born with the ability." Rei used her hands to push her wild bangs straight back so her tattoo could be seen better. "That is why I have this marking and that is why I was sent to train the Avatar."
"So…It is your destiny to be here with us?" Zuko was the first to speak.
"Yes." Rei responded with a smile.
"What else can you do with your bending?" Aang asked.
"A lot…In fact, I used it to get you out of bed this morning!" Aang stared at her for a bit.
"I was wondering how you did that."
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THANK YOU TO ALL WHO REVIEWED!
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Ok this guy is gonna pick up next chapter and follow along the storyline a bit. SOOOOOO...
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