Wandering Firebender
Eleven: The Yellow Horizon
Elio felt like he was getting a fever. His body was hot and cold; he was shivering and also sweating. He tossed and turned in his bed. His body tensed and relaxed again and again. Every time he heard the sound of sliding rock, it startled his nerves.
He finally sat up with a jolt. His hands were ready to fight, but he knew there was no one in the room. He rubbed his eyes with a tired groan and wiped his brow with his blanket. He got up out of bed and walked over to the window of his room.
He was staying in an inn within the walls of Omashu. It was a beautiful, tall city, but it was crawling with earthbenders. They were guarding the gates before he entered, and they seemed to run the city's delivery system through a series of slides.
The constant sounds of earthbending kept him on edge all the time. He could hear them by the gates, in the market, and even now in the dead of night he could hear them from his room.
Never before had he felt so unsafe, so stifled and surrounded by danger. His chest felt like it had been tight inside all day; he felt like if he breathed too much, he would be attacked. He could tell he wouldn't be getting much more sleep tonight…
He needed to get out of the Earth Kingdom…
Although he had nothing against the city itself, he was happy to put Omashu behind him the next morning. However, there was some good that had come out of staying there. While he was buying food for his journey, he had heard reports of a trade ship that had made port on the other side of the mountains.
In the days that he spent being guided around the mountains towards the next town, he was again reminded of why the citizens of the Earth Kingdom hated the Fire Nation so much.
In order to avoid a Fire Nation base, he along with dozens of other refugees were led by a guide safely around the mountains. The route was long, twisting and winding like a snake. It was hot and exhausting. He felt tired all the time, and it was obvious that the other refugees traveling with him felt the same.
The Fire Nation had made life hard for so many people. It had made life hard for Elio too, but for a different reason. They suffered because they weren't with the Fire Nation. He suffered because he had chosen not to stand with the Fire Nation.
Being caught in the middle of this war without fighting on either side was the right thing to do, but it was a lonely feeling too. It seemed there was no one that he could trust.
He finally arrived in the coastal town he had set out for. He immediately made his way to the harbor and walked down the line of ships until he found what he was looking for: a yellow flag with the outline of a sun with a bird in front of it as its insignia. He approached two men who were loading up cargo.
"I'd like to speak with your captain, please." He said as he approached them.
"Do you have business with him?" One of them asked.
"I heard that you're looking for crew members. I'd like to join." Elio stated simply. Both men looked him over, cocking their eyebrows.
"You sure about that, kid? It ain't easy work." The other man warned.
"I'll do what I have to do. Where can I speak with him?" He asked.
"He's at the helm. Right up there." The first man pointed. Elio nodded thankfully and made his way up onto the ship.
He looked around curiously. He watched as the crew members lifted crates from the dock onto the plank and pushed them up onto the ship. It looked busy; he was definitely going to be worked hard here. But any change of pace was welcome to him.
Besides, he'd often wondered what it would be like to be a sailor.
"Do I know you, kid?" The captain asked as Elio approached him. Elio shook his head.
"No, sir. My name is Elio. I would like to join your crew." He stated simply yet respectfully.
"That so? Where'd you hear that I needed people?" He asked curiously.
"Omashu. Just a few days' journey away. I-I don't really have any sailing experience, but I'm willing to learn whatever I need to learn." He said sincerely. The captain nodded.
"Very well. You said your name was Elio?" He asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Welcome aboard the Yellow Horizon, Elio," The captain said, shaking hands with him. "You can call me Captain Po, or just captain. I'll show you to where you'll be staying in the barracks, and then you can get started with this cargo."
Down in the barracks of the Yellow Horizon, Elio laid tiredly in his hammock in the dim light. After several days of walking just to get here, he had been hoping to catch a bit of a break on his first day, but that wasn't how Captain Po did things.
At the very least, he could rest now while ship set sail. Finally, he was free from the fear of earthbending, even if only temporarily. Now he was surrounded by the sounds of the ocean water and the tapping of footsteps above him. He was much more comfortable with that.
Elio reached into his pack and carefully pulled out his picture of his family. He hadn't really looked at it since the last time he'd been on a ship. He still thought about them daily, wondering how they were doing. Wondering if they were thinking of him…
"Okayyy, are you ready, Elio?" His mother smiled. Elio didn't want to show too much excitement outwardly, but he couldn't help but crack a smile.
"I'm ready… How does it look?" He asked.
"Why don't you take a look for yourself?" She giggled, inviting him to open his eyes.
Elio swallowed, nervous anticipation building as he opened up his eyes. His eyes fixed on his reflection; his hair had been brushed backwards and parted neatly in a backwards slope. He turned his head and saw the way his hair fell from the back of his head.
"Well, what do you think? Is it like you wanted?" She asked.
"It's the closest it's ever come!" He smiled, turning his head again and again to look at it. "It looks great!"
"Oh good! I was a little worried. It is an odd style, but now that we have it like this, I see what it is you're going for. I think with a little work and maybe a little hair product, we could make it look really nice." She said, fixing a few stray hair in front of his face.
"Yeah. You're right." Elio said with a smile. Just then, Taiga entered into the room curiously.
"Whatcha doing?" She asked.
"We're trying out a new hairstyle that Elio wanted." Their mother answered.
"Yeah. What do you think, Taiga?" Elio asked, looking down at his sister. She hummed and rubbed her thumb and pointer finger on her chin.
"Can I see it a little closer?" She requested.
"Uh, sure." Elio agreed, leaning down a little bit.
"It looks great!" She giggled, quickly reaching up and ruffling her hands through his hair to mess it up. She then quickly turned and rushed out of the room to avoid retribution.
"Taiga!" Rue exclaimed in an upset tone. Elio rolled his eyes and brushed his hair back with his hands.
"At least we know it can be fixed easily." Elio chuckled a bit, looking in the mirror again. The style didn't look quite as nice anymore now, but he still liked it.
"Yes. Let me go deal with your sister and then I'll show you how to do this yourself." Rue said, patting her son on the shoulder before exiting the room.
Elio shook his head with a chuckle, watching her leave before turning his attention back to the mirror. He continued to play around with it, readjusting it and looking at it from different angles…
"All hands on deck! Time to get to work!" A voice shook Elio out of his dream, or rather, the memory that he was dreaming about. He sat up suddenly, and his nappy hair fell over his face. He brushed it back with his hands and rubbed his eyes before getting out of his hammock, leaving his things within it.
Elio stepped up onto the top deck of the ship. He squinted hard as the fresh sunlight of the morning hit his eyes. It took him a minute for his eyes to adjust, but he made his way to the plank to help with loading and unloading cargo.
As he helped with sliding crates down, he looked over onto the harbor. His eyes fell onto the giant Fire Nation insignia displayed on the warehouse where some of the crates were being taken out from. He couldn't keep his eyes off of it.
Whether he was in the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom, on land or sea, there truly was no escaping the Fire Nation. That was because of the global influence it had. But he also knew that it was partially because of his heritage.
The Fire Nation, like it or not, was a part of who he was.
As the next day drew to a close, Elio went out onto the deck with his dinner in hand. He sat by the edge of the ship, watching the shine of the setting sun reflect across the calming ocean waters.
"Hey, kid. You shouldn't sit on the edge like that. Especially with food. One bad rock and you'll go overboard; you or the food." One of the other crew members, an older gentleman, advised him, walking over with an apple in hand.
"I'm keeping a good hold on my food. I just didn't want to sit down below deck. Not with this view." Elio said, gesturing to the sun beginning to set behind the horizon. The man chuckled and nodded in agreement, standing by the edge of the ship too.
"Yeah, it's the kind of view that keeps men like me sailing back out into the open water." He said, taking a bite of his apple. Elio smiled a bit and nodded.
"My name is Elio. What's yours?" He asked.
"Wo," He introduced himself, shaking hands with him. "Nice to have you on board, Elio. Where are you from?" He asked. Elio shrugged.
"Nowhere. I'm just a traveler." He answered.
"Alright, Elio from nowhere. What made you decide to join the crew of a trade ship?" Wo asked curiously.
"I wanted to get out of the Earth Kingdom," Elio answered honestly. "See more of the world." He answered.
"Ah," Wo nodded and smiled. "That's how I started to. You stick around long enough, kid, you'll get to see plenty. You might not always like what you see though."
"I see," Elio nodded, only getting a general idea of what Wo was talking about. "How long have you been a sailor?"
"I started when I was 16, and I've been going on for another 16 years strong." Wo answered with a proud smile. Elio shook his head in astonishment.
"Wow. You must really love the ocean."
"Haha, I do! When all else fails, the ocean isn't going anywhere. And you never know what it will bring you to. It's always changing." Wo said fondly, looking outwards again. Elio chuckled.
"Haha, maybe instead of a sailor, you should've been a poet." He joked. Wo didn't say anything in response, making Elio cough awkwardly.
"We're playing Pai Sho in the galley if you're interested in joining." Wo offered.
"Never heard of it. Is it fun?"
"Come on, kid. Let me learn you something real quick." He invited with a chuckle. Elio grabbed his things and followed him down.
After the first week, Elio felt like he was starting to get accustomed to the regular ins and outs of sailing on the Yellow Horizon. His main duties were always keeping various parts of the ship clean and orderly, which gave him the chance to meet more of his crew members.
As rough and burly as most of them came across at first, the general atmosphere amongst the crew was overall pretty friendly. Sure, there was a lot of teasing and pushing people's buttons, but it did well to keep everyone loose and laughing.
"Land ho!" The man up in the crow's nest shouted. Elio looked up from his position and gazed upon a small island slowly growing bigger as they got closer.
"What island is that?" Elio asked the captain curiously.
"That, kid, is Kyoshi Island. Legend has it a few hundred years ago, the Avatar cut a piece of land off the tip of the Earth Kingdom and made the island." Captain Po recalled.
"Made the island?" Elio repeated with a raised eyebrow. "Sounds a little far-fetched to me." He shrugged it off. Captain Po chuckled.
"Tell the crew to get the cargo ready for drop-off, kid. And don't get too comfortable with the girls you'll meet. They're fiery." The captain warned. Elio gave him an odd look before carrying out the orders he'd been given.
Soon enough, the ship reached the dock. The plank was lowered, and Elio was among the men unloading the cargo onto the dock. Looking over, Elio saw that the town they were delivering to had suffered what appeared to be a lot of fire damage. They looked to be in the process of rebuilding.
"Excuse me!" A girl dressed up in strange garments and wearing white face paint with red highlights walked over. "If it's not too much trouble, could you men help us carry the crates into town, please?" She requested.
"No problem, miss!" One of the men answered. As the last of their cargo was brought out onto the dock, a number of girls all wearing the same clothing and face paint walked over to help with picking up the crates. Elio paired off with one of the girls in carrying a longer crate into town.
"Hey. What's your name?" The girl asked him.
"I'm Elio. What's yours?"
"I'm Grace. Nice to meet you." She smiled.
"Nice to meet you too, Grace. So, what's up with the makeup? You all seem to have it." Elio curiously observed.
"It's the face paint that Avatar Kyoshi used to wear. We're the Kyoshi Warriors; we model our life and fighting styles after her." She explained.
"Makes sense. Is everything here centered around Avatar Kyoshi?"
"Yep! She accomplished so much in our lifetime. She really set an example we all could learn from." Grace said. Elio shrugged and nodded.
"Interesting. Is that statue there supposed to be of her too?" He asked, glancing over at the tall statue of a painted woman holding fans. Graced nodded.
"Yeah, that's her! Pretty cool, huh? She founded this island a few hundred years ago. And she's not the only Avatar to set foot here. A while ago, we had Avatar Aang here!" She said excitedly.
"Aang was here? Really?" Elio asked in surprise.
"Yeah! Sounds like you met him already." Grace observed with a chuckle.
"Uh, yeah. I met him once…a while ago." Elio swallowed, not wanting to think back to the circumstances around their meeting right now.
"That's cool that you got to meet him too! He stayed with us for awhile, but then he and his friends had to go when this squadron of firebenders showed up. As you can tell, they did a lot of damage, but Aang put out the fires before they escaped." Grace recalled the events.
"Oh wow. So there were firebenders here too?" He asked in surprise.
"Uhuh. They were led by this guy with a ponytail and a scar. I think his name was Zuh-ko." She tried to remember. Elio stopped walking, causing Grace to bump into the crate.
"You mean Zuko? As in Prince Zuko?" He asked with widened eyes.
"Oh, you know about him too?" Grace asked. Elio continued walking back so they could deliver the crate, talking at the same time.
"Zuko was the prince of the Fire Nation, the son of the Fire Lord. He was banished by his father after he spoke out of turn. He was sent to capture the Avatar… That was back before the Avatar returned." Elio realized.
"Woah." Grace's eyes widened too.
"It sounds like you know a lot about the Fire Nation," Another Kyoshi Warrior commented, walking over to them. "You can set that crate down here. This is where it goes." She said.
"Alright. Great." Elio said. He and Grace set the crate down. However, this new girl continued to stare him down. Elio looked at her oddly, waiting for her to speak.
"What did you say your name was?" She asked.
"Uh, I'm Elio…?" He answered, wondering why this girl was being so stand-offish with him.
"Tell me, Elio, how is it that you know so much about this Prince Zuko? We didn't even know he was a prince, yet you seem to know his whole origin story. Do you know him?"
"N-No, not really. I've just done a lot of traveling around. You hear things, you know?" Elio carefully lied. She hummed suspiciously but nodded.
"Alright. Grace, leave us for a few. I have a few things I'd like to discuss."
"Okay!" Grace agreed, quickly scurrying away and leaving Elio with his girl, who was now starting to give the impression to him that she was the leader of this group.
"What else do you know about the Fire Nation, Elio?" She asked, her attitude softening some.
"Depends on what you want to know. Why?" He asked.
"After Avatar Aang came and went, me and the other Kyoshi Warriors realize that we have something to offer in this war in the Fire Nation. This island is my birth home, and it was practically burned to the ground. I can only imagine how many people in the other nations have experienced the same thing…
"Anything about how they fight, how they operate; it would be a huge help in our effort once we leave the island." She explained.
"Oh!" Elio exclaimed. At first, he was going to simply deny knowing anything. However, these girls were likely to get in over their heads if they went out to fight without knowing anything about their opponents. He had something to offer here, and he could do it secretly…
"Well?"
"Let me finish my duties. I'll meet you again before leave shore." He promised.
"Hey, kid, where're you off to?" Captain Po asked when he noticed that Elio was getting ready to step off the ship. Elio glanced back at the captain.
"One of the Kyoshi Warrior leaders has asked to see me, sir. I'll try to keep my visit brief."
"I did tell you to be careful with the girls on this island. They don't play games, kid," He reminded Elio before chuckling. "We leave before sundown. Just be back by then unless you want to be left behind."
"Yes, captain. Thank you!" He said appreciatively, waving before hopping off of the ship and hurrying back onto the island.
"Kids." Po chuckled.
"There you are. I was beginning to think you weren't gonna show." The girl greeted him. They met by the base of Kyoshi's statue.
"Sorry. I just had to finish my duties on the ship. I have a little over an hour." He informed her.
"Alright. How long do you think it will take to show me what you need to show me?" She asked.
"Depends on how fast of a learner you are." Elio replied with a friendly smile. She smirked a bit, taking this statement as a welcome challenge.
"I do pretty well. Let's head over here to that open area," She pointed before leading him there. "What is it that you wanna show me?" She asked curiously.
"I have some knowledge on how firebenders fight. I can show you how they usually approach a battle." He said.
"Really? That's perfect!" She said. They stopped in the open area, "Let's get started then."
"Okay. First thing you wanna know is that firebenders always take power stances," He began, getting into a typical firebending stance. "They keep their center of gravity centered, and usually advance when attacking like this." He punched forward while taking a forward step, keeping his stance.
"I see," She observed his form. "When we were fighting the firebenders that invaded the island, most of them would aim their blows directly in front of them. Is that the norm?" She asked.
"Yes. Even when they're turning, they always operate in lines. Sometimes that means a forward blast, or they'll swing their hand across their bodies and create a boomerang-shaped blast," He described as he demonstrated the changes in stances. "But you will rarely run into firebenders who can curve their blasts."
"Interesting… Show me again."
Elio continued teaching this girl what he knew from his time in school. He showed her the stances and motions of firebending, he mapped out the different sizes of fire blasts on the sand of the island beach, and he walked her through different attacks and counterattacks for both himself and for her.
He'd never been one who cared for fighting, but he found himself going through this process with more vigor than normal. Knowing that his teachings could save this girl's life, and that there was a significant purpose behind all this made the process important to him, but it was also kind of fun too.
Elio took a few steps back and got into a firebending stance. Now the time had come for the final test of this training session: a sparring match. For once, Elio put himself in the mind of a firebending soldier so he could act out this fight like one, even if this girl didn't know he was hiding his true abilities.
Elio made the first move, stepping forward and mimicked shooting forward a big fire blast. She quickly stepped to the side, rushing forward to close the distance between the two of them. He threw another fire blast that she jumped over.
Surprised by her display of agility, Elio threw more fire blasts that all came just behind her pathway through the air. She landed behind him. He quickly turned and swiped his hand for another fire blast. She ducked under it, so Elio threw a kick at her.
She blocked the kick with her arm, turning to try and sweep his leg out from under him. Not wanting to be outdone too easily, he jumped under her sweep kick and stepped back. He went for another fire blast.
This time, she did a strange maneuver with her fan. She swiped it through the air, evidently cutting through the fire blast. She grabbed onto his shoulder, jumping over him and using her own weight and momentum to put his back on the sand.
"Unh!" Elio grunted from the impact. He opened his eyes to find this girl leaning over him, pinning his shoulder down with one hand and her fist ready to punch him with the other. His eyes widened in surprise.
This girl was more skilled than what he'd been giving her credit for.
"Anything else you'd like to show me?" She asked, letting him go so he could stand. He got up and turned back towards her.
"No, I don't think so. You definitely have what you need to take on any firebender." Elio said with a smile.
"Good! I'll pass what you've shown me on to the other Kyoshi Warriors. Thank you, Elio. You've been a huge help. Where'd you learn all of this?" She asked curiously.
"I've seen a lot of firebending up close in my travels. You pick things up," He answered. "I hope that it helps. You know, I never got your name before." He brought up.
"It's Suki," She said with a chuckle. "It was nice to meet you. Thank you again."
"You're welcome, Suki," He responded with a smile. "I really should get going. But I hope that everything I showed you comes in handy."
"I have the feeling it will. Safe travels!" She said with a wave.
"You too!" He waved in return, turning and running back towards the ship with a smile. Even though he'd been remaining neutral up until now, he could take pride in the feeling that he had done some good.
He ran back onto the deck of the Yellow Horizon. From the looks of the crew, it appeared as though they were just about to set sail. He reported back to the captain, who chuckled and shook his head when he arrived.
"You nearly missed the deadline, kid. Have fun with the girl?" He asked.
"I did," He answered before realizing that the captain was alluding to something different. "Wait, no, that's not-"
"Good for you, kid." He laughed. "Now keep a tight hold on the sails. Let's get on out of here."
Elio helped with getting the ship ready to sail away from Kyoshi Island. As wind filled the sails and the ship lurched forward, he looked back at the island and sighed.
He'd already developed an attachment to the place, not because he wanted to stay, but because of the lesson it reminded him of; something that the current Avatar had told him.
Turns out he was capable of doing good after all. He kind of liked the feeling of contributing something to the war, not just keeping his head down…
"Captain! Monster in the water!" The man up in the crow's nest shouted.
Everyone in the ship looked ahead to see a giant water serpent crossing back and forth in the water in front of them. Panic ensued onboard and they began to shout in fear. Captain Po raised his voice to direct his men.
"Quit running around like frightened animals! Get to your posts! We'll see if we can steer around this thing! Have your weapons and harpoons at the ready!" He quickly ordered. Elio swallowed nervously.
"Sir, what do I do?" Elio asked, his hands beginning to shake.
"Grab a harpoon and stay back where it's safe. You got more life left to live than most of us, kid." Po ordered him, grabbing a small harpoon and passing it to Elio. He caught it and gripped onto it tightly.
As the ship slowly worked around the giant serpent, its head lifted out of the water. The men watched silently, shaking fearfully at the sound of its low breathing. It turned its head and suddenly roared at them with a loud screeching noise.
"It spotted us!" The men shouted. The serpent quickly began to swim towards the ship, causing the waves to push against the ship.
"You need to get out of here now!" A female voice broke the air. Elio and Captain Po turned to see one of the Kyoshi Warriors running and taking hold of the steering wheel. Her makeup had washed off and her clothes were wet.
She must've swam onboard.
"Hands off the wheel, lady. We can manage!" Po demanded.
"You won't be able to work away from the Unagi this way. You have to drift with the waves when it moves! I can get you away from its territory!" She explained quickly.
"I'll guard her, captain! The other men need you!" Elio said, taking hold of the harpoon and standing on guard by her. Po gave in and nodded, rushing to the deck.
"Keep your hands steady!" Po shouted to everyone on board.
"I don't know if you guys have poor luck or poor timing." The Kyoshi Warrior steering the ship said. Elio glanced back at her.
"That thing wasn't here when we arrived!"
"It probably wasn't hungry when you arrived! Here it comes!" She pointed. Elio turned around. His harpoon nearly slipped out of his hands.
The Unagi raised up, lurching over the ship. The crew all looked up in fear. It was huge! There was no way they were going to be able to fight it off. It would only take something as simple as it falling on the ship and the ship would be broken in half.
It snarled and reeled back, spitting water at them. It hit the deck of the ship hard. The water smacked into the crew members and made them slip and fall. The Kyoshi Warrior at the wheel quickly spun the wheel to get the boat to turn.
"Water on deck! Grab your buckets!" Po ordered. The crew members who weren't paralyzed with fear quickly scrambled to get water off the ship. The Unagi leaned in to take a bite out of the ship, but it became distracted when it was hit by some debris.
Elio looked up and saw other Kyoshi Warriors shooting garbage and glass with slingshots, from the beach, at the Unagi to get its attention. It turned its head and spat its water at them. The girls scrambled to avoid getting hit directly by it, which kept it occupied as the ship made its way around the curve of the island.
"Keep the ship steady. You should be able to get away safely before the Unagi realizes you're gone. We'll keep its attention." Elio turned back to the girl. He didn't recognize her face without the makeup, but he realized who it was by the voice.
"Suki! What're you gonna do, Suki?!"
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Take the wheel!" She stepped away from the wheel. Elio quickly dropped his harpoon and grabbed the steering wheel. He watched as Suki ran up to the edge of the ship.
"Wait! It'll get you if you try to swim back!" Elio warned worriedly. She looked back at him.
"I'll be fine, don't worry! You get your men out of here!" She insisted before stepping up and turning around with a smile, "If you're lucky, we might just see each other again." She said, waving before diving into the water. Elio wanted to run to the edge to ensure she made it, but he couldn't let go of the wheel...
He and the crew did make it out alive thankfully. Once they were safely away and the crew calmed down, everyone was let off easy for the night and allowed to either rest or worry only about keeping the ship going towards the next destination.
Elio laid in his hammock again, his fingers interlaced as he stared up at the ceiling. He wanted to sleep, but he kept replaying the events with Unagi in his head again and again. He could only wonder in vain whether or not Suki had made it back alive.
Even on the ocean, he still wasn't truly safe. Even if it wasn't coming from the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom, death could take him at any time. Until he came to terms with that fact, he was never going to be able to have peace.
It seemed like his life was just destined for conflict…