Avatar Forever

The Secret of the South

That evening, during a meditation session in a spirit oasis, Raidyn and Draco received an invitation from a messenger to join Chief Aariak in a small banquet in their honor. "Wow. Another banquet", Draco remarked. "You're on a roll, Avatar Raidyn." Raidyn giggled. "Hopefully, I won't get another life-changing surprise at this one", she joked. Draco laughed as well. "Nah, I think you'll be fine", he assured her. Suddenly, Raidyn's smile disappeared. Draco could tell instantly that something was wrong. "What's on your mind?", he asked her.
"Listen....that kiss earlier."
Draco's smile disappeared as well. "What about it?", he asked.
"Did it.....mean anything?" She looked up at him to make eye contact, anxiously awaiting his answer.
"Uh...well..." He thought for a moment. "Do you want it to?", he asked her, looking her in the eyes. Raidyn wanted to answer that question, to say "yes", but she was speechless. They had only met two days ago, and they had never dated. "I'm not sure", she finally said.
Draco looked away, and she knew that she had said the wrong thing. "It's ok", he told her. "I don't want to rush anything, either. You can take your time and figure it out. I'll still be here." They both smiled, then returned to their meditation, but Raidyn couldn't help feeling guilty.

The two later arrived at the banquet at the center of the Tribe. They met Chief Aariak, a muscular man with black hair and blue eyes, and his 12-year-old daughter, Princess Nilak, a small, timid-looking girl with black hair and violet eyes, which was an unusual eye color. Something about her seemed off. "Welcome to the Southern Water Tribe, Avatar Raidyn", the Chief greeted her. "It's nice to be here", she replied with a smile. "Come", he said. "Sit with us. You are our honored guests." Raidyn didn't know why, but she felt like someone was watching her every move. As they all sat down, she noticed Princess Nilak staring at her intently, with no facial expressions to signal an emotion. Raidyn waved at her, and she waved back, still expressionless. "The girl is starting to creep me out", she whispered to Draco, who sat next to her. "I'm sure she's perfectly harmless", he said. But Raidyn had a different opinion.
The Chief publicly congratulated Raidyn on her waterbending progress, as well as her lightning-redirection. Raidyn, however, had too much on her mind to feel proud. But she thanked him anyway, and the feast resumed.

Raidyn woke up in the middle of the night, and saw a small figure standing outside her window. She went outside to investigate, and just when she found the hooded figure, it ran into the city. Raidyn chased the figure around several buildings before cornering it. "Who are you?", she asked. She blasted wind at the figure and its hood fell, revealing the young Water Tribe Princess, Nilak. "No way", Raidyn gasped. "Avatar. It's fate that brought you here to the Southern Tribe", Nilak said.
"What do you mean? I saw a vision of Korra back home and decided to come here instead of the Northern Tribe", Raidyn explained. But the girl shook her head. "No", she said. "Korra led you to me. I have a secret ability that only five other people have ever possessed. Korra knew two of them: One as an enemy, and one as an ally. It's my destiny to teach it to you, so you can be the first Avatar to learn it."
"What ability are you talking about, Princess Nilak?"
Nilak smiled and lifted her hand. To Raidyn's horror, she was lifted from the ground by an invisible force. She struggled to understand what was happening. Just then, Nilak walked closer to her and, very quietly, said, "Bloodbending."

Raidyn was at a loss for words. She knew bloodbending had been illegal for a couple centuries now, and was normally only possible during a full moon, though a few waterbenders were known to be the only exceptions. "You're a waterbender now", Nilak explained. "As the Avatar, it's your duty to truly master the four elements." Raidyn tried to break free, but to no avail. "Put me down, Nilak!", Raidyn shouted.
"Raidyn please, I only want to help you reach your full potential as the Avatar." At that moment, the two were separated by a wall of fire, and Raidyn fell to the ground. Behind her, she saw Draco. "Raidyn, are you okay?", he asked. "I am now", Raidyn replied. The flame was then extinguised by snow, and Nilak lifted her hands to bloodbend both Draco and Raidyn off the ground. "Don't make an enemy of me, Avatar!", Nilak warned. Raidyn turned her head and saw Draco, airborne and in pain. She looked at Nilak, and had enough of her. "I don't care if you bloodbend me, Nilak....but don't you dare hurt my boyfriend!!" A strong wind began to blow around them, and to both Draco's and Nilak's surprise, Raidyn's eyes and tattoos began to glow. "The Avatar State", Draco gasped. People began coming out of their houses to see what was going on, and they all gasped at Nilak's bloodbending and Raidyn's Avatar State. Raidyn broke free of Nilak's hold and blasted her against the wall with a powerful gust of wind. Draco fell to the ground, and Nilak stood back up.

Raidyn lifted her hand, and Nilak followed it. The citizens of the Tribe gasped once again. They all watched as the Avatar used bloodbending on their preteen Princess. Raidyn lowered her hand, and Nilak fell to the ground. But before she could stand up again, Raidyn walked over to her, grabbed Nilak by the shoulder, and placed her thumb on the child's forehead. Nilak was still for a moment, then Raidyn let go, and her eyes and tattoos returned to normal, as did the wind. Nilak looked up and lifted her hand again, but nothing happened. "You took my bending!", Nilak shouted. The citizens gasped for a third time. Draco, still on the ground, didn't believe what had happened. He stood up and walked over to Raidyn, who hugged him tightly and began to cry. Draco gently lifted her head from his shoulder, and looked into her eyes for a moment. "It's gonna be ok", he told her. As soon as he said this, she pressed her lips to his once again. "I love you", she whispered. Draco wiped a tear from her face. "I love you too", he whispered back. Neither of them wanted to let go.