The dualbender (atla) book 1

Prologue - hide and seek

- Third POV -

(Mizuki is 6 years old)

"28...29...30! I'm going to find you daddy!" Shouts Mizuki while walking through the beautiful hallways of the Western Air temple.

"Daaad? Where are you?" Exclaims the little girl. Mizuki looks around, determined to find her father.

"I'm close to the fountain!" Replies Mizuki's dad who's trying to hold onto the ceiling, using his airbending to float.

"Okay!" Beams Mizuki as she runs towards the fountain. She loved the the fountain, it was pretty in her opinion and she could practice her waterbending with the fountain's water. As soon as Mizuki arrives at the fountain, she sees her mom instead of dad.

"Hello Mimi, do you need anything? You look a bit confused" Says a beautiful woman with dark hair and blue eyes. The woman noticed that her daughter had been staring at the fountain for quite a while.

"Oh hi mommy! Did you see daddy anywhere? We're playing hide and seek but I can't find him! He said he was hiding here, but he's not here!" Babbles Mizuki while making dramatic gestures with her hands. Mizuki's mom chuckles at Mizuki and tells her to look up. The young girl looks up to see her dad using his airbending to float.

"I found you!" Gushes Mizuki as she points at her father out of excitement.

"Yes you did sweetie" Grins Mizuki's dad while jumping down before picking up his daughter. He throws Mizuki into the air before catching her and spins his daughter around while embracing her. The young girl starts to laugh while throwing her hands up in the air. Mizuki's mom looks at her husband and daughter in awe.

❀❀❀

Mizuki and her parents lived in the abandoned Western Air Temple. Mizuki's grandparents were two airbenders. The couple went on a vacation, but ended up getting lost in a mysterious forest. The couple ended up wandering through the forest for almost a year until they found a spirit, The mother of faces. The spirit felt empathy towards the couple, since they were one of the last airbenders alive. The Fire Nation had wiped out their race, but the couple had no idea of what was happening. The mother of faces gave the two airbenders a new face and told them the painful truth.

After hearing what had happened the couple decided to live somewhere hidden away from the others, especially the Fire Nation. They decided to stay at the Western Air Temple and continue the Air Nomad traditions. Eventually, they had one son who turned out to be an airbender. They taught him how to airbend and made sure he followed all the Air Nomad traditions to keep their culture alive. Their son fell in love with a traveling woman from the Nothern Water Tribe. They ended up having a daughter named Mizuki. Sadly, Mizuki's grandparents passed away before they could meet their granddaughter.

And that's how Mizuki is half Water Tribe and half Air Nomad, but the special thing about her is that she's able to bend water and air. When Mizuki was born, she got blessed by [...] because she was one of the last Air Nomads alive. The spirits were afraid that the Air Nomads existence would vanish from the physical world since nobody seemed to find the Avatar. If this were to happen, not even the Avatar himself would be able to restore balance to the world. Therefore, they gathered and discussed on what to do. They saw a vision that led them to make this decision: Mizuki would become the girl who lived. She was destined to be the one who survived. She had to find the Avatar so he could bring an era of peace back to the world. Her fate was intertwined with the Avatar's, and on top of that she was the only hope for the Air Nomads to not go extinct.

Mizuki's parents knew about Mizuki's fate and tried to prepare her to eventually face it. However, they also acknowledged that she was just a child who never asked for all of this. They told her the bare minimum she needed to know about the war and her ability to bend two elements. Not wanting to burden a child with the heavy responsibilities she was given. They taught her about the four nations and their cultures, taught her how to read and write, and informed her about the spiritual world and the influence spirits have on the physical world and humans.

Mizuki was a well educated and smart girl. She also had a strong spiritual connection. Mizuki managed to enter the spirit world for the first time when she was around eleven years old. The girl was trained in waterbending by her mother, who was a master waterbender. On the other hand, Mizuki was never trained in airbending. This wasn't because her father didn't want to teach her the art of airbending. Her parents didn't want anyone to find out Mizuki could airbend, let alone bend two elements. Even though they lived in an abandoned Temple, sometimes travelers or Fire Nation soldiers would pass by. They always had to be on their guard, they were never truly safe.

If someone were to find out that Mizuki could airbend, they would assume she's the Avatar and hold her hostage, and maybe even torture her. On the other hand, if people were to find out that Mizuki isn't the Avatar, she would be immediately murdered since she doesn't reincarnate. Besides, the Fire Nation would see her as a threat. Even though this family lived hidden during a tragic war, they were happy. They lived in peace together. They had accepted their fate and how they would have to stay hidden for the rest of their lives. They learned how to enjoy the small things of life such as the birds singing in the morning, the sun touching their skin gently, the beauty of nature and much more.

To be continued

Word count: 984