Wandering Firebender
Twenty-Two: The Canyon
While riding on the back of the komodo rhino, Elio held the reins in one hand and was holding up the map of the Earth Kingdom in the other. As Cindra was holding onto him, she noticed that he didn't seem to be fully focused on where they were going.
"Do you know where we're going, Elio?" She asked.
"Hmm? Yeah, of course I do. I got the map right here." He pointed out.
"Yeah, but you're looking at it when you should be watching where we're going. Tree!" Cindra exclaimed. Elio quickly guided the komodo rhino around the tree that they were about to run into.
"I'm multitasking! Besides, komodo rhinos are smart. It'll keep us on track until we get to the canyon."
"Either way, maybe you should let me hold onto the map until we get there." Cindra warily suggested.
"I gotta make sure we're still going in the right direction though. If the map is correct, pretty soon we should be coming up on the-"
"Stop!" Cindra screamed suddenly.
Elio immediately pulled at the reins. The komodo rhino quickly skidded to a stop just short of the edge of a cliff. Cindra grabbed on tight to Elio as they slid close to the edge before stopping. Elio exhaled in relief and looked out beyond the edge of the cliff.
"The canyon! We're here!" Elio said, rolling up the map with a laugh, "Told ya we'd make it."
"Yeah, heheh," Cindra let out a weak chuckle before the two of them got off the komodo rhino. "I'm just glad to be back on my own two feet."
"Understandable." Elio said before turning back to their ride. Once he had gotten all of their stuff off of the komodo rhino, Elio patted it on the side and sent it running on its way. Cindra eyed him strangely.
"Why are you throwing our ride away?" She asked curiously.
"I thought you didn't wanna ride it." He teased her.
"Well yeah, but isn't it faster?"
"It is, but the Fire Nation will be looking for a stolen komodo rhino. Besides, the harbor is on the other side of this canyon. The fastest way to get there is to cut directly through it." Elio explained.
"Makes sense. Looks like a long way to go." She said, resting her hands on her hips as she looked out over the long, outstretching landscape.
"Oh yeah. But at least we won't have to worry about the Fire Nation following us down here. The landscape looks pretty empty. I doubt we'll run into anyone in here." Elio said.
"Let's hope so. Well, shall we get going?" She looked at him.
"Yep! Careful going down alright?" He warned.
The two of them began their descent into the canyon. Elio went down first, strapping his pack to his back and finding a path to climb down. Cindra went down and followed his path as closely as she could. It was a slow, arduous process, but eventually they reached the bottom.
"Careful!" Elio said as Cindra's foot slipped near the end. He quickly stepped behind her, catching her to stop her from possibly falling backwards. She got her footing and leaned back against him.
"Whoa! Thank you." She said as she stood up. Elio let her go and they turned back towards the canyon ahead of them.
The two of them nodded to each other and began walking. With no shade and the hot sun beating down on them, they were forced to remove some of their extraneous clothing and use it as shade. It wasn't long before the both of them were already sick of being out here.
"How long did you say it would take for us to get to the other side of this canyon?" Cindra asked.
"Hard to say for sure. Based on the map, I'd say sometime tomorrow?" He guessed.
"Ugh, great. I'm already sweating through all of my clothes." She groaned.
"Yeah, same. I know it's not fun, but this was the best option for us." He said apologetically.
"Yeah, I know. I'm not blaming you. I'm just not a fan of this heat!"
"Haha, yeah. How about we sit and take a quick break? Drink some water, cool off, and then continue on our way." He suggested.
"Please. Anywhere where there's shade would be great." She stated her preference.
It took a little while, but finally they found some rock formations where they were able to get some shade. They sat down with their backs against the rock, placing their packs down next to them and sighing in relief. Cindra pulled out their drinking water and they both took sips.
"Oh man. This is almost as bad as the desert." Cindra said with a shake of her head.
"It's definitely close," Elio agreed. "But hey, we made it that time. We'll be fine this time too." He said, trying to be encourgaing.
"Yeah, true. Hey, can I see where we are on the map?" She requested.
"Sure," Elio nodded. He reached into his pack and pulled out the map of the Earth Kingdom. He unrolled it and leaned over to show her, pointing to their approximate location. "We should be right about here right now. The town and harbor are right here." He pointed to the other side of the canyon.
"So we're supposedly here, somewhere in The Great Divide, right?" She asked.
"Yes. However, since we're going this way, it should be easier to cross." He stated.
"I sure hope so. The less time we spend in this place the better." She said, rubbing her hands together.
"I agree! So we should get back on our feet." He said, getting up. He held his hand out to her. She took it and he helped her get to her feet.
"Right. Hey, where did you learn how to read a map?" Cindra asked curiously.
"They taught us how to do it in school. You use the sun during the day. We need to go north, so when the sun rose this morning, I made sure that I put it on our right." He explained.
"Not bad!" Cindra complimented. They put their packs back on and they continued once again.
As they began to walk out from underneath the shade, in the distance they could hear snarling and growling and the scampering of creatures coming closer. The both of them looked in the direction of the noise then at each other. Without wasting any time, they clutched onto their packs tighter and began to run.
As they rushed out into the open, their pursuers revealed themselves. They turned around to see a small pack of gigantic spider creatures with long, powerful jaws full of teeth. Both of them yelped fearfully and quickened their paces, but they were way too slow to outrun those things.
"Get your water ready, Cindra! We're gonna have to fight these off!" Elio shouted.
"Here we go again!" Cindra shouted in response.
Elio stepped forward and shot a large fire blast at the approaching pack. The creatures spread outwards, beginning to circle the two of them. Cindra pulled out her water and spun it in a ring around the two of them.
She rapidly extended her hands in different directions, shooting icy spikes at the creatures. They all reeled back and snarled angrily. Elio shot fireballs up into the air and directed them downwards, one by one hammering fire down upon the creatures.
"I'm pretty sure there aren't only just six of these things in this canyon!" Cindra said, cutting through two of the creatures with blades of water.
"This is probably a small hunting pack!" Elio guessed, shooting a fire punch at one of them. It reeled back and collapsed on the ground.
"How do you know that?" Cindra asked as she cut the head off of another one before it could get too close.
"I don't!" Elio shouted, extending both hands out towards another one. Like the first one, he overwhelmed it with fire until it couldn't fight anymore.
The last of the pack charged straight at Elio unexpectedly. He turned to shoot a fireball at it, but he was thrown off by how quickly it was approaching. Cindra used her bending water to lift up the creature by its belly, flipping it over Elio. It landed on its back, giving Elio the opening he needed. He flipped forward, sending a fire kick down into it.
"Trying to show off now?" She teased as Elio stood up again.
"Me? Never." Elio brushed himself off.
"Well, all things considered, that could have been worse. But let's try not to run into any of those things again."
"Agreed." Elio said as he caught his breath.
Thankfully, there weren't anymore incidents with those creatures. The rest of the day was spent walking in relative silence. As night came and the cold began to set in, Elio and Cindra made camp for the night near another tall rock formation.
"What do you think is the likelihood that those things sleep?" Elio wondered aloud as they sat and ate their food by a fire. They chose not to eat anything that needed to be cooked so as to avoid attracting any more creatures.
"Pretty likely...? I don't know. Do bugs sleep?"
"You know, I never thought that question would become important. But here we are." Elio said with some humor. Cindra chuckled.
"Maybe we should take turns keeping watch just to be safe. Besides, we can get real rest when we get to town." Cindra suggested.
"Sounds good. I'll take first watch." He decided.
"You sure? I don't mind taking first watch." She said.
"I know you don't. But I'm taking first watch, so there." He smiled. Cindra smiled back and tapped him on the arm.
"Thanks, Elio. In that case, I'm going to bed now. Gotta maximize that resting time, you know?"
"Haha, goodnight, Cindra." He chuckled. Cindra patted him on the shoulder before crawling into the tent.
As evening turned to nighttime and their surroundings turned dark, Elio found himself able to see less and less beyond the light of the fire. After awhile, he decided to stop relying on sight and rely more on his hearing. So he allowed the fire to go out.
He recalled a strange reaction his body had when he was last feeling cold and in front of a fire. He'd figured out a way to warm his body just by using his firebending. If he could figure out how to do that again, he wouldn't need to worry about the fire at all.
He crossed his legs and sat straight up. Resting his hands in his lap, he began to focus on his breathing. He took in slow, deep breaths. He almost felt as if he was meditating; only able to hear his breathing in the silence around him.
Before long, he didn't feel cold anymore.
"Hey, Elio," Cindra muttered tiredly. Elio looked behind him and saw that Cindra had woken up on her own. She rubbed her eyes and crawled up behind him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "I think we should switch now." She said with a yawn.
"You sure? You sound like you could use a little more sleep." He observed.
"I can't sleep right now. Besides, it's been a few hours. Time to switch. You need your rest too." She countered. Elio nodded.
"Yeah... Something bothering you?" He asked. Cindra sighed, sitting down next to him but facing the other way.
"Just worried... Anxious," She answered. "I didn't leave my family on good terms. Even though things are different now, I don't know if they'll be happy to see me. You know what I mean?"
"I'm sure they will be." He said.
"You think so?"
"Of course. You had the right idea, and I'm sure they'll see that. I'm sure they'll be happy to see that you're alright. And even if they aren't happy to see you, you know that you did the right thing. That's all that really matters, right?" He gave his thoughts.
"I guess you're right," She nodded, hugging her knees. "That must be how you feel, right? Since you kinda did the same thing." She asked.
"Yeah... It's not easy though. But when you go back, whatever happens, I know that you'll be ready for it." He said to encourage her.
"Thank you, Elio... I'm worried about you though. Even after I go, you'll still have Cassian after you. You'll still be in a lot of danger." She added.
"I'll be alright, Cindra," Elio said, trying to sound reassuring and confident for her. "You know I can handle myself."
"I do. But still, I can't help but worry. I know I don't really need to, I just want you to be alright." She said honestly. Elio nodded in understanding, patting her on the knee.
"I get it. I'll be alright. I promise."
"I'll hold you to that," She said with a soft chuckle. "But hey...if you ever get the chance, write to me, alright?"
"Haha, I can. I don't know if there's a postal service over in the North Pole though." He said with a laugh.
"Ha, well, for the right price, I'm sure you could make something work." She said confidently.
"Well, if I get the chance, I certainly will." Elio said with a smile. He couldn't see it, but Cindra was smiling too.
"Good. Now get some sleep, Elio. I'll wake you up when its your turn again." She insisted.
"Alright. Goodnight." Elio said, retreating back into the tent.
"Goodnight... Oh, wait! Could you light the fire real quick?" Cindra requested.
Elio extended his hand out of the tent and shot a quick fireball into the fire pit they had made. What was still flammable caught on fire and began to burn. Cindra threw some kindling into the fire to make it brighter.
"Thank youuu." Cindra said.
As Elio drifted off to sleep that night, his mind went back to his own family. Cindra was getting the chance to reunite with hers, and he wanted to believe that it would go well for her; however, he was unable to do the same with his own family, even though he missed them.
He began to wonder how his family would react to seeing him again. His father would likely still be upset and angry, and he wouldn't hesitate to express his feelings then and there. His mother would be far more upset, but she would likely just want to understand why he did what he did.
It was his sister's reaction that he wasn't quite sure of. Taiga and Elio have had their contentious moments, as all siblings do, but they got along more often than they didn't. He couldn't imagine how his decision to leave must've affected her, losing a family member that was also like a friend...
A few more hours passed, and hints of sunlight were beginning to peek over the horizon. Elio got up and let Cindra have a little more rest before they went on their way again. When morning came, they got up and continued onward.
They were both still tired, so conversation was scarce as they found themselves once again back underneath the hot, harsh sun. The heat was beating them down, wearing down their energy to continue. Drained as they were, they knew they couldn't be too far from the end of the canyon now.
"Man, what I wouldn't give to be an airbender right now. I could whip us up a nice breeze. Maybe fly us across the canyon faster." Cindra sighed.
"Well, I don't know about the second one, but definitely the first one." Elio commented.
"What do you mean? That's how airbending works, isn't it?"
"Not quite."
"Oh so you're an expert on airbending now?" She teased.
"Well, I did meet one once." He commented.
"Oh yeah, right. I forgot about that. Was he cool?" Cindra asked curiously.
"Yeah. Yeah, he was nice." Elio answered with a nod. Cindra nodded too, not saying anything.
There was an awkward pause between them.
"It'd be nice to have an earthbender too," Elio spoke up. "We could have a big rock slab for shade, and he definitely would be able to get us up and down the canyon walls."
"Oh yeah. Someone like Alger, perhaps?" Cindra suggested.
"Oh right! Alger!" Elio remembered, "I wonder how that guy is doing."
"Me too. He was kinda weird, but at least he was helpful." She said.
"Yeah, when he wasn't attacking me." He added.
"Right, tack off a couple points for that one."
"Yeah... Look! There's the wall!" Elio pointed ahead of them.
They both sighed in relief as they finally saw the other side of the canyon ahead of them. They only had a little further to go! Then they would only have to worry about getting out of the canyon.
"Finally! Let's go!" Cindra exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Elio's hand and urging him to go faster. Although his feet were tired, he pushed himself to indulge her in hurrying their pace. Finally, they reached the base of the canyon wall.
"We're almost out of here!" Elio said with a happy sigh, leaning back against the wall.
"Yeah. We just gotta get to the top of this wall." Cindra said.
"Right, yeah... Just soak in this moment. This is a victory." Elio said with a tired exhale.
"But we're not at the top yet."
"Shh, you're not soaking."
"Yes, I am. I am soaking in sweat!" Cindra complained. The two of them looked at each other and began to laugh. Elio snickered and smiled.
"Alright, yeah, fair point. Let's get up here so we can book a room and take a bath."
"Please." Cindra giggled.
The two of them turned back towards the wall. Elio scanned the terrain going upwards while Cindra looked to either side for an easier way to get to the top.
"I think we can make this climb." Elio said.
"You sure? Wouldn't it be easier to just find a part of the wall where it isn't as steep?" Cindra suggested.
"There's no guarantee that we'd find it though. And then we'd be off track."
"You're positive that if we climb the wall right here right now, the town will be right there?" Cindra asked. Elio started to doubt himself a bit just by the tone of her voice, but he was certain up until now that he had led them in the right direction.
"We've been following the map closely. I know it's up there." He answered. Cindra placed her hands and looked up at the wall again.
"Alright," She shrugged. "Let's do it then."
Elio tightened the straps of his bag and started the climb. He guided Cindra on where to place her hands and feet so she could follow right behind him. Thankfully, the wall was jagged; this allowed them to take frequent breaks as they got higher and higher. Their anxiety rose as they scaled higher and higher, but before they knew it they were halfway up.
Elio reached over and helped pull Cindra up onto a ledge where they could sit back against the wall and take another break. Cindra took out their drinking water and they both took sips. They sighed and relaxed, taking in the view of the canyon.
"Beautiful view, huh?" Elio said.
"About as Earth Kingdom as it gets," She commented with a chuckle. "And so easy to reach too."
"Right?" He scoffed.
"It's actually not so bad. Long as you don't look down." She said.
"Yeah? Is it bad?" Elio asked. He curiously leaned forward to look down over the edge. Seeing how far the drop was made him instantly queasy. He sat back again and cringed heavily. Cindra rolled her eyes and gave him a sideways look.
"Really? You're such a dork!"
Soon after, Elio and Cindra mustered up the energy to resume the climb. Elio led the way again and Cindra followed behind him. As they got higher up, the rock wall got harder to climb, but they still had one more ledge that they could stand on.
However, as they were nearing it, they heard the familiar sounds of snarling and scampering. They looked down and saw that a few more of those creatures were making their way up towards them. Cindra looked up fearfully at Elio.
"What do we do?!"
"Climb faster! We need to get to the ledge!" Elio said.
Elio quickened his pace so Cindra could hurry and take his place. They only had about 10-15 seconds before those creatures would be on top of them. Elio looked down and saw they were getting closer. He looked back up at the ledge and took in a deep breath.
"Watch your hands, Cindra!" He warned.
Using his firebending, he leaped up towards the ledge. He shot fire out of his feet to boost his jump. He managed to get his upper body over the ledge. He pulled his legs over and turned around.
"Come on, Cindra!" He urged as she climbed higher.
"I can't do that!" She yelled at him.
"Get as close as you can then jump! I'll tell you when!" Elio directed, holding his hands out.
"I'm not gonna make it!"
"I'll catch you!"
Cindra shuddered fearfully as she sidled as close to the ledge as she could. Elio looked down below her and saw that those creatures were about to reach her.
"Jump! Jump!" He quickly shouted.
With a scream, Cindra jumped out as far as she could towards Elio. Elio reached out to grab her, but he quickly saw that her jump was a little short. He dropped down onto his stomach and grabbed her hands, keeping her from falling.
They both yelped out in pain as he held her up. The creatures crawled up past her, but their attention was already turning towards them. Elio lifted Cindra up so she could grab onto the edge of the ledge.
"Grab on! I got you!" He shouted.
As Cindra grabbed onto the ledge, Elio let her go. He wrapped one arm around her to help her pull herself onto the ledge. With his other hand, he shot fire at the creatures. However, because his attention was divided and he'd lost his breath, his attacks weren't too effective.
"I got it!" Cindra exclaimed as she pulled herself over the ledge.
"Here they come!" Elio shouted as the creatures snarled at them. There were two of them.
Elio took in a deep breath and shot a fireball out of his foot. It crashed into one of them, causing it to burn to a crisp and fall back down the cliff. The second one retreated slightly.
"Ahh!" Cindra shrieked as another creature appeared on the other side of the ledge. She pulled out her bending water and created a spike, piercing the creature out of pure instinct. She melted the water and launched it away from them. The two of them scrambled to their feet.
"We need to get to the top!" Elio shouted. He looked up towards the top. If he could muster up enough power, he could make the jump to the top with Cindra in tow, "When I say so, grab onto me!"
"We gonna make another jump?" She asked, creating a protective barrier between them and the last creature.
"Hopefully!" Elio answered.
Cindra, without any direction from Elio, grabbed onto him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and braced herself, "Do it!"
Elio wrapped his arm around her and took in a full breath of air. He grunted out loud as he jumped into the air, boosting the jump with firebending again. They flew up into the air and awkwardly arched over the top of the cliff. They landed harshly on their sides on the grass, still holding onto each other.
"We made it!" She exclaimed.
The last creature quickly crawled to the top of the canyon. As it reached the top, it lifted its head and roared at them. Elio immediately shot a huge fireball at it, causing it to reel back. Cindra created another ice spike and shot it into the creature's chest, sending it flying back into the canyon.
Elio and Cindra, both gasping for air while their hearts were racing, slowly laid back in the grass and groaned. They pulled their arms out from around each other and rested again. They were so tired at this point, that they were considering just laying in the grass and calling it a day.
"So... Take your pick: the desert or the canyon?" Elio asked tiredly. Cindra smacked him on the arm.
"I don't wanna do either of them again!"
"Yeah, same," Elio said with a long exhale. He turned onto his stomach and slowly pushed himself to his feet. "But look. There's the town up ahead." He pointed out.
"Really?" Cindra looked and saw the town. She quickly got to her feet too, "Finally! Please, let's find an inn now!" She begged.
"Yeah, let's go." Elio said with a tired chuckle...