"He's my . . .second uncle's father's brother's uncle's sister's husband's daughter's cousin. And I'm supposed to keep an eye on him while he's out," I lied.
"But you're a waterbender. Water and fire don't go together," Hama pressed.
"Yeah but Zuko is fine that way. I don't really know," I mumbled biting my nail.
"Hmmm . . ." Hama furrowed her eyebrows, stroking her chin. "Alright then, dear. Just asking." She sat up and smiled. "We train in an hour. Get ready."
As soon as she was gone, I stumbled outside to Zuko. "Zuko!" I yelled, shielding my eyes under the sun. "Zuko!"
I found him resting in the shade under a tree, his arms behind his neck, his head propped up. He had a weed thing in his mouth and I fought the urge to laugh. "Zuko!" I repeated, and he looked up, squinting. As soon as he saw me he crossed his legs over one another and hung his head low; a warning for me to go away.
Obviously, I ignored it and ran towards him. He didn't look up as I bent next to him under the shade on my heels, steadying myself with my palms flat against the grass. I shook his shoulder but his eyes were closed. "Zuko I know you can hear me wake up this is really important oh my spirits really really important like super duper oh my and she knows you're Zuko and we need clothes because we look suspicious in Fire Nation clothes."
He looked up. "What?"
I rolled my eyes. "Don't make me repeat it."
"Leave me alone, I'm tired."
"You sleep for hours and you're still tired?" I scoffed.
He crossed his arms over his chest. "You want clothes? Go buy them." He opened his eyes.
"You need some too. Let's go after I talk to Hama and she teaches me waterbending."
"She knows I'm the prince?"
"No, she knows you're the banished prince," I smirked. "Sorry," I said after his steely glare, "I had to."
"Just go."
"So you're coming?"
"Does it look like I have a choice?"
I shrugged and grinned, snatching the weed thingy out of his mouth, and his reflexes acted against his will. He jumped up and his eyes were alert, and he almost shot fire at me.
"Haha," I mocked, running back inside the house.
🔥🔥🔥
Hama took me through the forest, far from her house.
"What are we going to learn first?" I asked, cheerfully.
"Finding water in places you'd never think of. Mei, you have to keep an open mind," she tuned to me, smirking. "You can find water anywhere, even when you can't see it. Even out of thing air." She sliced her arm through the air and the next thing I knew, droplets of water had appeared out of nowhere, forming a large bubble around her fingertips. "Learn to adapt to your surroundings." Water froze on her fingers like sharp icicles. With a fast swipe, the icicles flew off, entering a nearby tree. My mouth gaped.
"So you form water out of air by . . . ?" I trailed off, feeling weird.
"I don't form water, I take it. Or use it. Water is everywhere, Mei." She pulled my arm and walked me to a nearby tree. Suddenly, she yanked back her hand and twisted her arms, forming a routine of jerking hand movements. The next thing I saw was a large bubble of water above us and a shriveled tree trunk, bent over; dead.
