The Other Airbender

13

TW - Blood
O.o

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It was chaotic.

As my eyes adjusted to the sunlight, it felt like everything was in motion. There were still explosions being set off, and there were dozens of Fire Nation ships, not unlike the one I was on right now, across the horizon in one line. A large catapult was was in the middle of the deck, and if I weren't in such a daze I would have wondered how it got there. People were shouting behind me, and when I turned around, I saw thick black clouds of smoke billowing out from the engine. The ship rocked dangerously when explosions landed in the water beside the ship, and I saw the prince shouting orders near the bow, too preoccupied to notice of me.

The adrenaline was beginning to wear off, leaving me wincing in pain as I realised my body was littered with bruises and cuts. I didn't think I could clear my head enough to fly; my ears were ringing, and a small headache was beginning to come on. I couldn't let the prince see me, and I needed to escape. I limped to the edge of the ship and leaned over, checking to see if I could jump over.

A soldier was coming my way. I had to hide. I ducked behind the catapult on the deck, which was now clear of soldiers, except for the prince and his uncle. The prince was glaring at something in the sky, and I followed his gaze. My heart leapt into my throat.

A flying bison. It was weaving and dodging every single fire ball that it was thrown. I squinted as I followed it, and noticed that there was a person- no, people, riding on it. It had to be the Avatar.

The flaming attacks stopped, and everything was quiet for a few seconds, none of the ships launching ammunition. I could hear my heart beating in anticipation as I watched everything play out. The bison flew closer to the line of ships in front of me, skimming the water and lifting itself higher.
Although all the rumours about the Avatar had only fuelled my disappointment, knowing that an airbender was so close to me was giving me hope. False hope.

I tensed as I watched the ship in the middle of the fleet launch a fire ball straight towards the bison. I held my breath, fear clutching my chest. I didn't know why. All I felt was scorn towards the Avatar, but he was still an airbender. I didn't want him to die. I wouldn't wish death on someone so hastily. Especially if they were the last airbender, aside from me, of course.

Suddenly, I saw a small figure leap from the bison and twist in the air, before imitating a kick and sending a huge gust of air straight at the fire ball from his feet. I watched in awe as it fell apart, crumbling down towards the sea. The bison soared over the ships, unscathed. Relief washed over me, and my heartbeat slowed to a normal pace. A glimmer of hope began to flicker in my heart. He was the real deal. He was amazing. He was my chance. My chance at learning actual airbending techniques, at learning the culture, my culture. Once I escaped, I could search for him. It wouldn't hurt, right? I mean, returning back home to the small Earth Kingdom village wasn't the most appealing option. I wanted to search for Haru, but something told me that finding him would be impossible. I wasn't giving up on him. I wouldn't do that. I just hoped that he had been on that ship where I had first been imprisoned, and that he had escaped. I sent him a silent apology for my decision, but I was smart enough to know that the chances of finding him were now next to nothing. It was pointless looking.

A chill ran down my spine, distracting me from my thoughts, and I realised that goosebumps were running down my skin. My clothes were still soaking and I hadn't done anything to dry them, and they were getting colder and stickier by the minute. As I crouched down behind the catapult, I could feel every muscle in my body complaining. What had began as a slow headache in the back of my head was now a pounding pulse that seemed to be roaring in my ears and it made me feel like puking. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to calm myself, before feeling something warm trickling down my face. I brought my hand up in confusion to wipe it off, and it came away covered in blood.

I'm not afraid of blood, and seeing it doesn't make me cringe, but when I looked down at the crimson liquid all over my hand, my eyes widened in shock. I hadn't realised my body was covered in blood. I knew that I had been injured, but I hadn't realised it was this bad. I had deep slashes on my legs and stomach, and irritated, blistered skin beneath the cuffs that were still wrapped around my wrists and ankles, clinking ever so often to remind me of their presence. The blood from multiple wounds was trickling downwards, leaving red sticky trails down my paled skin. Streaks of it were smeared on the patchy metalwork by my feet, and my originally green earthbender clothes were stained a shade of brown. Bright blue and purple bruises were blooming like flowers across my body. The pounding in my head made it hard to concentrate, and the swell of the ocean was not helping the sickening feeling in my stomach. I could barely pick up on my surroundings.

I shivered, my clothes now felt freezing as they plastered themselves on my skin. Weakly, I dried myself, wrapping myself in a tunnel of air. It felt better, but my clothes were now encrusted with a layer of salt. I closed my eyes and took a shuddering breath, trying to warm myself up with a breathing technique I had attempted to teach myself from my grandma's scrolls. It wasn't working. Slowly, using the catapult as a brace, I pushed myself up so I could stand, to try and clear my head, but it only made me feel worse.

I managed to notice when we neared the line of ships, but for some reason they stopped shooting. It became eerily silent for a few moments, as we approached them. All I could hear was the constant pounding that was echoing around in my head. Leaning against the catapult to stop me from collapsing, I took in a few shallow breaths. I didn't know how I was supposed to stay hidden. If we were passing them, which it seemed like we were, I would be in full view from the surrounding water vessels. Frantically, I searched for somewhere to hide without being caught. The boat lurched forward, speeding up, and I felt my stomach lurch with it. This was not good.

I just wanted to get out of here. But now my body felt like lead. All I had to do was take a few steps and I would be in the water. But I couldn't. If I tried, I knew I wouldn't make it. Maybe you could lie down, just for a little while, Miko. I swayed, but steadied myself against the catapult. No Miko, get a grip.

I was so busy trying to concentrate on not falling that I didn't notice as we passed the line of ships. I didn't notice the man on one of the other ships break eye contact with the prince to stare at me in confusion, and perhaps borderline shock. I didn't notice the prince turn to follow his line of sight. I didn't notice as the prince walked towards me. I didn't even notice his eyes narrowing into a glare. All I could feel was the pounding in my head and the warm blood seeping out from my wounds as I struggled to maintain a grip on my consciousness.

"What happened to you?" A rough voice asked me. All I could see was the red marks on the floor. The voice sounded strangely distant and distorted. Someone grabbed my shoulder, and I moved my head instinctively upwards. My vision blurred as I moved, and my head felt light, like a hot air ballon, unlike my skin was sickeningly cold.

"H-Haru?" I called out faintly to the figure in front of me. I reached out to touch the person's face, before giggling woozily. "I've found you." I reached up my other hand to squeeze their cheeks, but my body began to sway from the loss of support. "Uh oh!" I whispered as I felt myself falling to the cool metal floor.

Strong arms caught me before I could hit the floor, and I felt myself being carried off, before I felt the blurry world before my eyes fading away.