The First Night
As I fall asleep that night, all I can think about is how itchy Katara's spare dress is. I mean, how can she move, let alone bend, in this thing? My own clothes were soaked through from when Katara sent a stream of water over the edge of the temple when I unconsciously rolled off. Wet jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie weren't my choice for pajamas, though, so I'm glad Katara had something extra. Even if I do hate dresses and skirts with a passion.
As soon as I fall asleep, I dream of the voice from yesterday, the one that led me through making my newfound friends mobile again. The voice soon embodies itself in my mother. As the setting falls into place around her, I find that we are on the beach. It's the beach from our last vacation to California, but there aren't any tourists or squawking seagulls. It's just me and my mother.
"Starr," she calls, opening her arms for a hug.
I run and nearly crush her with the force of my squeeze. "Mom," I sob. "I miss you so much."
"I know, my dear," she responds, tears in her eyes. "I've missed you too. But this isn't about me. This dream is about you, and your purpose with the Avatar."
I wipe away my tears. "You know about the Avatar?"
She smiles. "Sweetheart, I trained the previous Avatar." She throws out an arm to the sparkling Pacific, and it immediately freezes. She motions to the sea again, and it moves back into motion, but slowly, as if it were molasses. With another motion, the waves move faster than I've ever seen. Then, my mother brings her arms to her sides and the ocean returns to normal.
I am confused. Aang already has a teacher for all four elements. "You're a Water bender?"
"Starr," she says to me seriously, "ours is a family of time benders. This gift has been passed from my mother to me, and now me to you. We are forced to travel back through time when the Spirits believe the Avatar is ready to learn time bending."
"I can bend…time?" I try to wrap my brain around that one.
"Yes," My mother smiles again. "You are the only Time bender where you are now. Time bending has been kept a secret for thousands of years, to give the Avatar the edge he needs to fulfill his duty to the world."
"It that how I froze everything yesterday?"
"Yes. Your subconscious felt that you were in danger, so you stopped time and gave yourself a chance to escape."
"And then…you helped me put everything in motion again," I hug my mother again.
"Because just as with the Avatar, the Spirits of all previous time benders live within you," My mother pointed to my heart. "Now, we have a lot of work to do, and only a short time to do it. Let's get to work."
My mother proceeds to show me all the maneuvers of time bending: how to fast forward, rewind, stop, and slow time; how to heal cuts and injuries in people; how to travel through time; even how to properly use my backpack.
"Every time bender is given a link to her own time. Your backpack will provide you with what you need on your journey, whether it is clothes, food, or shelter."
She shows me so many things I think my head will explode. Too soon, however, she's fading away.
"Be warned, Starr, that when the Spirits believe your task is done, you will be pulled back to the future, with no bending abilities and no memory of what has happened."
Before I can ask her anything more, the dream changes to one of my normal ones. It should properly be called a nightmare.