AN: So here is the next chapter, it's been a while hasn't it. Hope you all enjoy the update though, and continue to follow the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or Avatar the Last Airbender.
( - )
(Last Time)
Pushing back his matted, sweat soaked grey hair, an old man continued to hurry through the forest. He could already hear the shouts of his pursuers behind him, but fortunately they were growing more distant by the minute.
He had waited and grieved long enough. No longer did he want to wallow in misery, he'd already done that for too long.
No, he was done waiting around.
It was time to go out, and get vengeance, both for his lost nephew, and for his lost son.
( - )
Chapter 13
( - )
(With Sokka)
The loud whack and thwack of two sturdy staves clashing again and again, filled the small grove. The sound occasionally being accented by a grunt and the sound of one of the sticks hitting flesh.
"Keep your guard up." Suki said stepping back, the three foot long, naked wooden branch in her hand spinning almost idly as she kept her stormy eyes on her opponent.
"That's what I've been trying to do." Sokka grumbled back at her, his face set into an intense scowl as he held his own wooden stick out in front of him with both hands, as if attempting to ward off the vile Kyoshi harpy in front of him, before she hit him again and left yet another red mark or welt to add to the rapidly growing collection he had on his arms, legs and body.
"To begin with yes." Suki nodded, her eyes narrowing as she idly shifted from one foot to the other, her loose shirt rustling slightly in the gentle breeze that blew through the secluded grove. "But the moment you see an opening, or manage to block a hit, you let it go down and that just leaves you open to more punishment."
Sokka grumbled in response. His eyes shifting as he took in Suki's unmarred form, her long slightly damp brown hair had been pulled back into a messy ponytail, keeping it out of her face. Her shirt meanwhile was short sleeved and baggy, the gentle wind occasionally shifting her shirt around enough to reveal her powerful looking abs, and the coiled, corded strength in arms.
Once upon a time, Sokka had thought that a girl was only good for cooking, cleaning, taking care of the children, that and for keeping the hut in order. That they were fragile, and gentle and needed protecting.
Much of this opinion had come from watching the women in his village over the last three years. After all, ever since the men of the village had all gone to war, it had been up to him as the oldest of the boys left in the village to protect everyone, even as the women of the village kept things in order and looked after the dozen or so younger children in the village.
Even his sister, stubborn and headstrong though she was, had only affirmed the opinion in his mind as she continued to wash and darn his clothes and keep the home they shared with their aging grangran in good condition.
Women, he had thought, were soft and gentle and just as men relied on them to feed and look after them when they were at home, so too did they need the men to protect them when they were in danger. It was a symbiotic relationship. This, he had thought, was as true as the fact that the sky was blue, and that the snow was white.
Only now, a little more than a month into his journey with Aang and Katara, he was beginning to question the facts that had been a staple of his life. After all it was hard to reconcile the fact that women were weak and needed protection with the Kyoshi Warriors, the all female band of fighters that protected Kyoshi Island from raiders and pirates.
Similarly, it was hard to continue to think that his sister needed his protection, when he had seen the damage she could do when she was truly angry and using her Waterbending.
His entire view on societal propriety had been upturned in just a short month, and he honestly didn't know what to do.
Just a month ago, he was the strongest warrior in his village, the pride and the protector of his small isolated community. But yet here he was, covered in sweat and rapidly growing bruises, getting the shit kicked out of him by a girl.
Sure, the girl in question was the former captain of the Kyoshi Warriors and now apparently a skilled mercenary. But it still stung his pride to admit that he didn't stand a chance against her, and perhaps what made it worse was that he had been the one to suggest a spar between the two of them in the first place, whilst Percy, and yeah it was a weird name but they all had weird names really, taught Aang and Katara to splash about with magic water.
"Heads up." Suki called again, a slight grin on her face as she stopped shifting stances and instead leapt forward at him again, her makeshift sword raised to strike. "And remember, keep your guard up, and don't focus on just my sword, but watch my feet and eyes too. They are more likely to tell you what I am going to do than my sword."
Gritting his teeth at this, Sokka met her charge head on, his own stick swinging through the air to meet her as he blocked a side swing. The vibration from the blow sent a slight, painful jolt through his hands.
Giving ground, he then dragged his sword up above his eyeline and held it horizontal as he caught a fast downward swing from Suki, only for him to then deflect it to the side and move in close. He had seen her do this very same thing to him, whereby she moved in too close for him to use his weapon properly, after which she used a few punishing blows to his kidneys to put him down.
This time however, he would be the one to get in close, so he could use his superior physical strength to grapple her down.
Smiling slightly, Suki, instead of doing what he thought she would do and backing off, kicked him in his undefended chest. Her booted foot landed a punishing blow to his sternum and forcing him back, even as then dropped to the ground and did a sweeping kick, knocking his legs out from under him as she did so and leaving him to land unceremoniously on his arse, his breathing now ragged as he desperately tried to draw in breath.
"The parrys were good, but you were too eager to deflect my sword. Sure it inconvenienced me and broke up my rhythm, but it also left you open too." Suki said, her stick slamming into the ground point first between his legs.
Sokka gurgled and huffed at that, his chest still aching as he continued to take deep breaths.
"You're getting better though." Suki offered. "And I really do mean that. When we first started you were not great, I mean I remember you training at the island, and you hadn't gotten any better since then. Now though you are at least able to anticipate most of my attacks and react quickly enough to block and even counter them. You're making rapid progress. But if you want to see real improvement then you need to keep up your training and practice, and build up your muscle memory. There are no shortcuts, there is only hard work. Do it and you see results, slack off, and well…"
"Yeah, yeah I get it." Sokka finally managed to rasp, his breaths becoming easier as he sat up and looked up at her.
In response Suki merely cocked a hip and smiled cheekily. "Well make sure you remember it. Your teammates might be able to throw around the elements, but that doesn't make them invincible. They get tired like anyone else, and can be caught by surprise, or be hit from afar by an unseen arrow. You might not think it, but they need you just as much as you need them in a fight. Everyone needs support, and no one person is an island."
Sokka blinked in confusion at that for a moment, before he sighed and stood up. "Are you telling that to me to make me feel better, or is it to make you feel better?"
"And what do I need to feel better about?" Suki asked with a raised eyebrow, before her full lips quirked into a cheeky smirk. "Besides if I want to feel better, I don't need words, I just need the weapon Percy is smuggling between his legs…"
"Urgh, please don't.." Sokka groaned. The thought of the attractive Kyoshi Warrior that he may or may not have a crush on sleeping with the moody, grumpy, pseudo Avatar - and yeah that was still something the guy hadn't explained properly, was not what he wanted to be thinking about right now.
Suki however just laughed in response, and clapped him on the shoulder. "You're too easy to rile up Sokka, you need to toughen up."
"Hey I'm plenty tough enough already!" Sokka shot back. Noticing as he did that she had quite neatly sidestepped his original query. "That said I am hungry, have you got any food?"
Smiling again, Suki rolled her eyes and nodded. "Yeah, come on. I've got some dried platypus bear meat in our bags. It's a bit fatty and doesn't taste great, but it's better than nothing."
Grinning at this, Sokka jogged after her retreating form and back over to where Appa was lounging about in the sun, their baggage, and Percy and Suki's armour and weapons all sitting safely in the large saddle on his back.
Hopping up onto the sky bison's arm and then into the saddle, Suki dug around in a faded green pack for a few moments before she stood back up and threw a small brown pouch of dried meat down to him.
"So I have to ask," Sokka began, pulling out a strip of the jerky and tearing into it, even as he then handed the pouch back to Suki as she rejoined him. "How did you get to be so good at fighting? I mean the Kyoshi Warriors were tough, but they were more dancing than fighting, or well…"
"Dancing?" Suki asked with a smirk.
"You know what I mean. They were, you know, more agile and jumping around, hit and run kind of fighting with lots of dodges, twirling and flips. It's different to how my dad and the other men in my village fought. You though, you seem to do both?" Sokka said, trying desperately to explain himself in a way that didn't make him look like an idiot. He liked Suki, she was friendly, open and very pretty. She was great. He didn't want her to look at him like he was something unpleasant she had stepped on, he had gotten enough of that from the other Kyoshi Warriors, and Katara for that matter too actually.
"Well I suppose that's because I had two teachers growing up." Suki shrugged, her smile widening slightly. "The old captain of the Kyoshi Warriors trained me and the other girls on the island who wanted to join up, since I was a little girl, and then about three years ago Percy washed up ashore and I eventually got him to teach me a few things too. So I guess the reason why I fight so differently is because I had two main teachers, with two different styles. Which makes mine a hybrid of the both of them."
"So why not focus on just one, or is having a hybrid style better?" Sokka asked.
Prior to leaving the South Pole he had only known one way to fight, and that was the Southern Wolf style. It focused on ferocity, aggression and speed. It required light armour and weapons meant for quick deadly blows, such as spears, bladed clubs and axes. It wasn't elegant, nor was it something that could be used in a shieldwall. Instead it was meant for ambushes, skirmishing, guerilla tactics, and fighting on ships.
The Kyoshi Warriors meanwhile were more flamboyant and acrobatic, but just as fast paced and hit and run. There were similarities between what he had leant and what they used. He could just about understand that style, especially as it subbed out the strength required for using clubs and axes like the men of his village used, for speed and finesse with bladed fans, daggers and whatever else they used. It had similarities but had been altered to account for girls being more flexible and agile than men, but also naturally weaker.
Those two styles he understood.
The way Suki fought though, and Percy too for that matter. It was so alien compared to what he was used to. It was efficient and not flamboyant, using short, sharp thrusts and slashes as opposed to flips and twirls, and controlled grounded footwork that seemed to lend itself more to strength than speed. It was also based around using a sword, which should, in his mind, make it more elegant. But instead it seemed more brutal, with it involving punches and kicks to disable, confuse and leave openings for a sword to be thrust through so it could pierce vital organs.
"Because both styles have strengths and weaknesses. The way Percy fights is efficient, but has been adapted to take into account his bending and his much greater strength. The Kyoshi style meanwhile is more fluid and agile, but it is more defensive than offensive. So I suppose I took what I could from both. I am not strong enough physically to use Percy's style as well as he can, but I am far more flexible than him so compensate for it with that. In the end it's about learning what you can and fitting it best to what you yourself can do." Suki said after a few moments of thought, her eyes staring off at the nearby river in which Percy, Katara and Aang were all currently splashing about.
"So just take on board anything you think is useful and make it your own?" Sokka asked. It sounded messy and cheap. But at the same time it also sounded appealing. The Fire Nation used a rigid inflexible style that relied on tight formations, and overwhelming force and aggression. The Earth Kingdom too seemed to rely on pure force and power, but they were more defensive than the Fire Nation. Perhaps he could incorporate everything he learned and experienced, and make his own unique style, one that was perfectly suited to him?
"Yep." Suki nodded, her eyes still on the river in front of them, or rather the shirtless Percy that was standing in said river.
"So Percy, he never explained how he can use more than one element?" Sokka hedged, his eyes on the distracted Suki now.
Thus far the green eyed waterbender had been less than forthcoming. In fact he seemed to be deliberately avoiding answering questions where he could. It was annoying.
"No idea." Suki shrugged, tearing her eyes away from her partner now and looking back to him. "Maybe it has something to do with the spirits. I honestly don't know. Percy doesn't talk much about his past. Hell the only thing I know is that he is from far away, possibly the Spirit World, though that is just my guess, and that his mother was called Sally and that his father is a dick. That, and I know he has been in a lot of fights, and that in the last one when he fought against someone called Pallas, he lost, badly."
"Doesn't that bother you, you know, him not telling you anything about himself, his history, his family, anything?" Sokka asked, genuinely confused now. He had only known Aang for around a month, and he knew most of the younger boy's backstory, or at least a lot of it. Though admittedly there were probably bits that the arrowheaded kid was holding back, but still they were just friends and he knew that much. Percy and Suki though, they were apparently much more than that.
"No," Suki said after a few moments of thought, her brow furrowed. "Percy's past is his own, and if he wants to put it behind him and only look to the future, then that's fine. As long as that future involves me in it, then I am happy."
"What?! But I thought girls were into honesty and openness and all that crap? Or at least that's what my sister said." Sokka almost exploded, he was very confused right now.
"You do realise that not all girls act and think the same don't you? That's were all individual, unique people with our own thoughts and feelings, and that we aren't defined by our gender?" Suki asked dryly, an eyebrow cocked in amusement.
"Ermmm…" Sokka replied, his mind spinning as he tried to dig himself out of the hole he had unknowingly found himself in.
"But no, she does have a point. I don't like being lied to, nor do I like people keeping important things that could affect me, secret from me. But Percy hasn't lied to me, that I know of. Nor has he, I believe, kept anything harmful secret from me either. The reason I don't know about the multiple elements thing, is because I've never asked. If I did, I think he would tell me the truth. Similarly I think he would give me the truthful answers to anything I asked him about his past, and maybe for that reason I don't, his past is his own and if he wants to put it behind him, then I love him enough to respect that." Suki explained. Her words only caused more confusion in Sokka.
He honestly couldn't get his head around it. She didn't know much about his past, but could get the answers she wanted whenever she liked. But she didn't, because she knew he would tell her, and that is all she needed to know? Was it him, or were girl's insane? None of that made any sense to him at all.
"It's about trust, Sokka." Suki said patiently. "I trust him to tell me things he wants to in his own time, and likewise he trusts me not to pry into things he doesn't want to talk about yet."
"Right…" Sokka trailed off.
Suki however just smiled, before reaching down and picking up a waterskin and taking a deep drink. "You'll understand it one day. But for now have a drink, and let's get back to it!"
"Urghhh!" Sokka groaned audibly. He was tired, and his chest was now aching as much as his arms and legs were. Soon enough he would be nothing but a walking bruise.
"Oh stop bitching, it's better you make a few mistakes and get a bit roughed up here where it is safe, then make those same mistakes in a real fight!" Suki shot back with a grin.
"You're a monster, has anyone ever told you that?" Sokka shot back sourly.
"Oh chin up and stop being so melodramatic, we'll just do some light sparring and I'll show you a few handy moves I've picked up." Suki replied cheerily.
"A complete monster…" Sokka grumbled as he followed along behind her.
( - )
(With Percy)
"Remember kids, feel the water around you and visualise what you want it to do. It's as simple as that, those flowing martial arts moves Waterbenders do, from I've managed to work out it is all about directing the energy inside of you. Firebenders do it too, and so do Earthbenders, and Airbenders too I imagine as well. It is a crutch, a way to move the energy within your body around and help you stabilise and control the elements. But that is all it is." Percy said as he walked between both Katara and Aang.
Currently the trio were standing knee deep in a cool refreshing river. Percy had removed his both boots and shirt, and rolled up the legs of his trousers. Aang and Katara meanwhile had stripped off completely and put on their own versions of swimwear, with Aang wearing what looked like a brown thong - which was deeply unpleasant to look at, whilst Katara was wearing some white cloth garment that was thankfully more refined and less revealing that Aang's getup.
It was already awkward enough paddling about in a river with two children, one a preteen and the other barely fourteen, without them wearing awkward swimwear too.
Still, he had grudgingly agreed to this and so had to be patient. Besides he had dealt with worse from Suki, only back when she had been fourteen he had only just turned twenty, so it wasn't too bad… okay, thinking of it that way it was pretty bad. Percy held back a wince at that thought, even as he focused on the fact that he and Suki had only gotten together recently when she was seventeen and he was twenty three. That at least made it legal by his standards.
He didn't dare use this world's standards to judge considering some of the people he had met seemed to think it was reasonable and appropriate for a thirteen year old girl to marry a thirty year old man.
Shaking his head at that thought, and assuring himself that he was not a cradle robber, and that his and Suki's relationship was perfectly fine and appropriate. Percy forced his mind back to the matter at hand.
Yes, he was teaching both Aang and Katara how to manipulate water, or at least was trying his best to equate his abilities as a demigod son of a sea god, with their abilities as mortals that were blessed by spirits, or whatever they were.
"Instead you need to feel the push and pull of the water, the way it moves around obstacles, its fluidity, and its unpredictability. To control the water, you need to first understand it and and feel it, and then you need to embody it and become one with it. After that, you need the strength of will to command it." Percy pressed on.
Both Katara and Aang currently had their eyes closed, and almost seemed to be meditating. It had been Aang's idea, a throwback from his old Airbending training.
"Can you feel the water around you?" Percy asked, walking between the two of them and then turning to face them.
"Yes," Katara nodded.
"Yes, sifu." Aang said.
"Don't call me that Aang," Percy replied dryly. "Now that you feel it, spread your senses out, concentrate, regulate your breathing and try to become in touch with your surroundings. I know it sounds ridiculous, but then again so too does mortals being able manipulate the elements. But despite that you can, and that is because you hold an energy inside of you."
"Our chi." Aang nodded, "The energy that flows through all living things, but that is at its most concentrated in benders. I remember my old master, Monk Gyatso, telling me about it."
"Yes, now focus Aang. Try to become one with the water, try to feel the way it flows and moves around you. Once you've done that let the chi flow through you, just like the water," Percy said with a nod. He hadn't heard of chi before, except in some of the old school kung fu films he had watched as a kid. But now he knew of what it was called and that it did exist in this world, he could at least guess that it came from the spirits, and was the metaphysical energy that allowed people to manipulate the elements, just like the divine energy within him had changed his body, and allowed him limited control over his father's domains.
"Now open your eyes and try to move it, without moving your bodies. Create a ball in front of you and just let it hang there." Percy pressed on. He was pretty much making it up as he went along now. But he at least had sort of an idea about how Waterbenders controlled the water.
His working theory was that they used their martial arts to channel the energy through their bodies to become one with their particular element, and then to direct it.
That said such a style sounded a bit inefficient to him, with too much wasted movement. Instead, he had a theory that with enough focus and willpower, the elements could be bent without a need for the wide sweeping movements.
Without a word both of them opened their eyes and concentrated, their eyes almost watering at the effort the two of them were using.
"Come on focus. I know you can both wield the water the traditional way, but if you master this you can cut down on how much wasted movement you're using. It'll give you greater understanding of the element, and more control over all. The martial arts you lot use are a crutch, throw it away and try to master the elements properly." Percy pushed. His eyes switching between the two of them as he saw the water around the standing duo begin to bubble.
"Yes, you're nearly there, focus. Don't just guide the water, control it. It's all about focus and willpower." Percy pressed, a very small smile spreading across his face as he saw the water in front of Aang begin to rise, a wobbling ball slowly taking shape. Though noticeably water was already spewing off it as it began to lose volume.
"Focus Aang, visualise the orb as a solid, unbreakable mass and lift it." Percy said, his smile widening slightly as the orb of water rose another foot into the air, and water stopped leaking out of it, leaving it at roughly a foot in diameter. "Good, now keep it there, and keep it stable. The longer you do it, the easier it'll become. Now that you know it is possible, you can train your mind so you are no longer reliant on those 'ancient martial arts' to properly wield and manipulate water. Instead you'll be able to control it with just your mind, a strong will, and steady focus."
Aang nodded at that, sweat beading his slowly reddening face as he struggled to maintain the floating orb in front of him.
"Now it's your turn Katara. Aang can do it, you've seen that much, so you know it's possible. Now just clear your mind and focus on what you want the water to do." Percy said softly, his eyes shifting from the still straining Aang, to the red faced and frustrated looking Katara, as the water in front of her still continued to bubble.
After waiting for a few more minutes to see if anything was going to happen, Percy then shook his head. "Okay and relax."
With a gasp the both collapsed onto their hands and knees, with Aang's orb of water splashing down in front of them moments later, liberally soaking the pair of exhausted Waterbenders.
"That wasn't bad." Percy nodded as he looked between the duo, a slight smile on his face. He was being honest too, the two of them were not as useless as he had feared they would be.
"T-thanks," Aang gasped out, his head raised now to look at Percy. "I didn't think it was possible to control the elements without moving."
Percy gave the younger kid a crooked smile. "And that's part of the problem, and why things stagnate. Once people start to believe something can't be done, they stop trying. From my experience, kid, nothing in life is impossible, not when you can push past your limits and make it possible."
Aang sent him a weak smile at that.
"H-how is any of this useful?" Katara suddenly asked, her face still a little pink as she struggled to her feet and glared at him.
"Well for now, it is probably not. But in the long term, if you keep practising, it'll make you better benders. It'll allow you finer control, and won't make you as limited as other benders." The girl was pissed off and frustrated, Percy could understand that. He had seen it before, and he had felt a similar amount of frustration. He knew that he needed to be patient.
"Just look at me." He continued, raising the stump where his left forearm used to be. "Accidents and injuries happen. When you have people throwing around elements and swinging sharp weapons you could easily find yourself maimed. If that does happen, do you really want to become useless and unable to help your friends and comrades?" With that said Percy summoned some water from the river and covered his stump in it, creating a watery copy of his missing appendage.
Waving the watery hand at the red faced girl, Percy took a step away from the duo and crossed his arms. "Now that we've got the bulk of the training out of the way, why don't we have a little practice fight, to see what you've got?"
"You want to fight us now, when we are both exhausted?" Katara asked accusingly.
"The enemy won't wait for you to be well rested." Percy replied boredly. "Plus as we've already confirmed by now, I could quite easily crush both of you in a fight, even if you were fighting fit."
Katara scowled again at that.
Aang meanwhile let out a slight laugh. "Yeah, fighting has never been my strong point. When I was growing up with the monks, we were always taught to avoid fighting when possible, and instead to try to deal with things without resorting to violence."
Hearing that, Percy bit back a retort about how that worked out for them. Such a response was uncalled for, especially since Aang, for all Percy's previous misgivings about his childishness, naivety, and ignorance, was in fact a hard worker, and at least seemed determined to learn. He was still a child that was in over his head, but he was at least trying to better himself, and that if nothing else, was commendable.
"If everyone in the world was like your monks kid, then the world would be a better place." Percy replied simply, and he was being honest. "Now enough talking, let's fight!" With that said, Percy set his stance and faced the duo.
Groaning slightly, both Aang and Katara did the same.
"So what are the rules?" Katara asked. "Is Aang only allowed to use water, are you?"
Percy smiled slightly at that shot.
"Let's say for now that he can only use water." Percy replied mildly.
Katara narrowed her eyes at this.
"And what elements can you use?" Katara shot back.
"You have all the subtlety of a bull, Katara." Percy sighed, ignoring the girl's confused look at his comment, and instead focusing on the look of barely contained excitement and curiosity on Aang's face. "Fine, it's not as if I truly go out of my way to keep it a secret, or at least I don't put that much effort into it. My primary element is water, and I'm very good with it. After that my next strongest element is earth, I'm good with it, but my control is nowhere near as fine as a master Earthbender's control probably is. My uses for it are more bluntforce power, than fine control. After that I have limited control over air and lightning. Aang, you're no doubt far far better at controlling the air then I will ever be, and my lightning power is limited to single blasts, I can't do much more than that. As for fire, I have no affinity for it. There, happy?"
Both Katara and Aang stood there stunned for a moment, at the sudden, almost casual reveal.
He could actually understand their confusion too. They must have thought that he was desperately trying to keep his abilities a secret. Really though, he wasn't. Sure he tried to avoid talking about it when he could, as it created too many annoying questions and drew attention, some of which would no doubt be negative. But at the same time he wasn't scared of people finding out, as soon or later news would get out, after all he wasn't the most circumspect or subtle when it came to fighting, and sooner or later he was pretty sure he would be forced to go all out.
That said, a part of him did take great pleasure in seeing the stunned looks on both of their faces. He could almost imagine the same look on Suki's face, only he had never gotten to see it as she had never asked, and in fact didn't seem all that interested in his abilities most of the time. Instead she seemed more interested in him as a person, and in the two of them living their present lives to the full.
Things like his past and his origins, didn't seem to bother her as much as he thought, not that he wouldn't tell her if she really wanted to know.
"H-how can you wield three elements? And lightning, how can someone control lightning?" Aang asked, his words filled with both shock and excitement. He looked like a kid on a sugar high right now.
"How can you wield four? Why can Katara control water?" Percy shot back.
"That's because Aang's the Avatar, the one and only Avatar, and I'm a Waterbender. We make sense, you don't!" Katara replied, an strange amount of anger in her voice as she did so.
"Sure you make sense within your own minds, but to other people, those who can't bend, do you really think they understand just how and why things are the way they are?" Percy grinned in response. He would tell them what he was capable of, after all he was sure it would come out eventually. But he wasn't giving them his life story, that was his business and his business alone.
"That's not an answer!" Katara snapped.
"Nope." Percy replied.
Katara let out a shout of anger at this response, her face once again going red as she lashed out and sent a whip of water straight at his chest. She was annoyed, perhaps overly annoyed, but he wasn't going to start trying to understand what was truly bothering her now. Instead he would allow her to vent a bit, and perhaps get a bit of a work out himself in the process.
Not moving a muscle, Percy unleashed a wave of energy from his body, the water around him exploding up and into a wall of pure water. With the wall then pushing out from him and completely devouring the weak water whip as it then proceeded to knock his two temporary students off of their feet, even as it revealed the suddenly bone dry river bed around him, in an area of about two metres in all directions, before the water slopped back down into the river, fully drenching his pupils now.
"Well looks like we've started then." Percy smiled, crossing his arms in front of him as he did so. "And the rules are thus, you two can do whatever you want, whilst I'll use just water, and I'll use it without moving. That should be enough of a handicap. You have five minutes, and your task is to try and hit me at least once, each!"
Struggling to their feet again, a thoroughly soaked and bedraggled looking Aang and Katara turned to face him.
Katara looked pissed, and was already in the process of moving her arms about to create several orbs of water which she could then shoot at him.
Aang meanwhile, just looked befuddled for a moment, before with a grin he summoned a blast of air and sent it straight for Percy.
Keeping his arms folded, Percy let out a sigh and created a swirling dome of water around him as he prepared to wait the five minutes out.
"I wonder if they'll figure out whether or not to work together to take me on?" Percy muttered to himself as he saw the blast of wind hit his dome like shield only to break apart around it, barely causing the solidified water to ripple, even as several of Katara's water projectiles were absorbed into the swirling dome moments after Aang's attack had fully dissipated.
He had stolen the idea for this little sparring session, from a barely remembered anime that he remembered watching in his youth, when he was around twelve. The name escaped him, but he remembered it was one of those bullshit, over the top, power of friendship type animes, which seemed to have a hard on for teamwork.
Still, stolen exercise or not, the idea was at least solid.
Smiling to himself at that, Percy barely blinked as a wind blade glanced off of the dome, even as Katara tried and failed to take control of the water he was using to create his defences. Hopefully the duo would at least make this fun.
It was as he was thinking that though, that Percy glanced up over the duo's heads and saw a large plume of black smoke slowly taking form in the distance, maybe ten or so miles away at least, only for another one to appear and then another and another. Until soon enough there were close to half a dozen large plumes of smoke creating dark pillars in the sky.
"The Fire Nation…" Percy muttered, no longer paying attention to Katara and Aang anymore, as he instead focused on the evidence of what could possibly be a Fire Nation invasion.
( - )
(With Azula)
Standing at the large makeshift dock her troops had made for their encampment, Azula, stood waiting for the largest of the battleships to finish docking, a smile already spreading across her face as she saw the eleven other ships all either anchored in the bay, or similarly docked up.
"Temujin." Azula called to her pet Earthbender, the large, dark haired man standing at attention just behind her, alongside her two pet Waterbenders and four remaining loyal Firebenders. All of them wearing elegant, Fire Nation armour, hand crafted and specifically designed to show off their positions as the elite guards to the Crown Princess. "Start expanding the walls and building more shelters. Also ensure our defences are fully secure. I don't want the Earth Kingdom catching wind of just how many of us there are until it is too late."
"Yes your majesty." Temujin bowed, his voice deep and low as he then turned and left.
Smiling at this, Azula didn't even turn around to watch him slope off, instead her golden eyes remained focussed on the battleship as its gangplank was lowered and a pair of striking individuals descended the steps. The two of them walked down ahead of the commander of the fleet. With one of them practically skipping as she closed the distance between her and Azula and flung herself towards the princess and gave her a hug. The other meanwhile, just gave the military encampment a bored, unimpressed look, before looking at Azula and giving her a slight smile.
"Ty Lee," Azula said, a hint of genuine warmth entering her voice as she carefully pushed the beautiful, yet very clingy, brown eyed, brown haired girl off of her. A fond smile spread across her face as the other girl, who was dressed in what looked like light, ruby red leather armour and pinkish robes grinned at her, even as she took a couple of steps back and away from her and then gave her a cheeky curtsy.
"Oh it has been so long Azula!" Ty Lee chirped, a beaming smile on her face. "I was getting so bored of city life, and my sisters that I was almost tempted to run off and join a circus! But then you called for me, and well it just sounded so exciting! And oh, you're aura too, you look much happier being here then in the city too, oh this is going to be so much fun!"
Trying to stifle an unbecoming grin at her overly cheerful and just generally over the top friend's words, Azula instead looked to the other girl. This one looked more austere and stern, more becoming of a Fire Nation noble, with her dark hair tied up and into buns, and her clothing red and black robes, with added armour over her chest, and a number of small knives almost unnoticeably hidden throughout her flowing, elegant garment. "Mai."
"Princess," Mai said with a small smile and a bow, before her smile slipped away slightly. "I heard of your brother's murder, my condolences. I came as soon as I was able."
Azula's smile became a little brittle at that comment, even as Ty Lee let out a startled 'eep', and looked on the verge of saying something, probably something overly emotional and sappy knowing her.
"Yes, Zuko's death was… painful. More so than I thought it would be. As too was my Uncles desertion. Things have been tense, and father is angry and wants justice." Azula said, choosing her words carefully now. "I am glad you came. I have missed you both, and I will need you for what is to come."
"Hunting down Zuko's murderer, the Avatar." Mai nodded, her lips curling downwards, even as her dark eyes seemed to momentarily flicker with rage. The fingers of her right hand almost lovingly toyed with a knife she had just pulled out of the sash around her waist.
"Don't worry, Azula. We won't let him get away, we'll bring him to justice!" Ty Lee said firmly, her frivolous happy go lucky persona fading for a moment as she instead gripped Azula's hand tightly and met her golden eyes with her own brown ones.
"Thank you, to both of you." Azula nodded, a genuine smile on her face as she looked between her two friends. She didn't feel quite as alone as she had before. More than that though, she now also felt one step closer to capturing the Avatar and punishing her brother's killer.
( - )
AN: So what did you think? The pieces have been assembled, and soon war will come to Omashu, should be some good stuff.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, a bit of character development in this chapter, can't always be action after all.
Not much else to say, other than that I hope you leave a review, and that I am a part of a discord group now, the details are in my bio, feel free to pop by and say hi, and I'll answer any questions you may have. If not, then feel free to PM me, and I'll answer in those too. Reviews are good, whether they be positive or negative, if they are negative though please explain your reasoning, reviews like "Guest: shit fic!" are not all that handy.
Hope you all stay safe out there, and I'll catch you later.
Greed720.