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.