I Am Not the Last Airbender {ON HOLD}

Chapter Eighteen

            “MACCOMACCOMACCOMACCO!” I screeched, running the words together in my terror.  We were so dead…or captured…or whatever they planned to do to us.  They were there.  Right below.  Following us.  Now.

            Startled, Macco raised his head above the saddle and looked to the ground.  His brown eyes widened with fear.

            “What are they doing here?!” he cried out in shock.

            My mind was racing.  Weren’t they working for Fire Lord Zuko?  Was the Fire Nation Army under Fire Lord Zuko’s orders to chase us, or someone elses?  Would Fire Lord Zuko, a friend of my dad’s, do this to us?  Were we really worth all of this trouble?  Who were they working for, if not Zuko?  THIS IS ALL SO CONFUSING!

            “I have no idea!” I answered with all honesty.

            They were still below us, keeping up with our pace, only a mere hundred feet beneath Appa’s belly.

            “You don’t think they’ll hurt us, do you?” Macco asked tentatively, as if he already knew the answer.

            “We won’t let them,” I said with false confidence.  They could definitely hurt us.  Badly.

            “I mean, they wouldn’t, would they?  We never did anything to them.”

            I was about to disagree, thinking of all those joking insults, wondering if they might have been taken seriously, when we were jerked backwards.  A sort of water-lasso was wrapped around Appa’s tail, and began dragging us towards the ground.

            Moving my left arm frantically, trying to keep one hand on the reigns, I tried to un-bend the bended water pulling us towards our doom.  At the same time I attempted to get Appa to pull against the lasso.  By some miracle I was able to release us.  For a few seconds.

            It seemed that a wave of water came from below and pushed me, sending me flying through the air.  Wide-eyed, I panicked for a good two seconds.  Then, adrenaline took over.  An eerie calm came over me.  Popping open my canteen, water began to pour from it, seeing as I was sort of upside-down.  Waving my hands furiously, I scooped it out of the air.

            Flick the wrist.

            Slightly bend elbow.

            Swirl motion

            Bend other wrist upward.

            Twirling motion—one rotation.

            Push forward with both hands.

            Push.

            Concentrate.

            More, Jalia!

            Push!

            I landed on a soft water bubble that burst into a puddle a moment after I landed.  Soaked, I turned to face our pursuers, determination on my face.  In actuality, I was completely surprised that it had worked.  Who knew that you could bend while flying through the air?  (I mean, not airbend.)

            Briefly, I looked up and there was no sign of Appa and Macco anywhere.  I hoped they had gotten away.  But to my dismay, a thud! came from behind me, shaking the ground.  I dared not turn around, staring at them in the eyes.  Who knew what they would do if I so much as moved?  Footsteps appeared next to me, and in my peripheral vision Macco came into view, glaring angrily at them.

            I couldn’t believe that pony-tailed idiot and smirking blade-carrier had come after us!  I was speechless.  Thankfully, they spoke first.

            “Nice to see you again, Julia,” he sneered.  He never privileged me with the correct pronunciation of my name, even now.

            “And you, Macco dear,” she grinned.

Slovono and Kioka were back.

---

Did anyone see that coming? 

Now, in all honesty, who was sitting in front of their computer making weird wrist motions?  Get any strange looks?  Hehe  :)

AGAIN I’M SORRY FOR THE SLOW UPDATE! I’m a bad person, I know. *sob*  I’m trying, honestly, but I kind of get caught up in other things…

Have a lovely day!

~Suzanne