Balance | Old Version

Chapter 10

Elua's POV.

I stand in the hut as I move around, practicing my airbending stances.
"Uh...Hey, Elua," I hear Sokka say awkwardly, I turn around to see him standing in the door.
"Hoping for another dance lesson?" Suki asks mockingly as she stands in front of him.
"No...I...well, let me explain." He says.
"Spit it out! What do you want?" Suki questions. Sokka sighs as he kneels down in front of her.
"I would be honored if you would teach me," Sokka says as he looks down.

"I thought girls were weak?" I ask him, he looks over to me.
"I'm sorry if I insulted you earlier, Elua," Sokka says sincerely. "I was wrong." He states.
"Well, I know that," I say with a smirk, he smiles at me.
"We normally don't teach outsiders, let alone boys," Suki says.
"Please make an exception. I won't let you down." Sokka tells her.
"All right. But you have to follow all of our traditions." Suki says.
"Of course!" He says excitedly.

"And I mean ALL of them."

Later.

"Do I really have to wear this? It feels a little...girly." Sokka says looking down at the uniform Suki had made him wear.
"It's a warrior's uniform. You should be proud," Suki tells him. "The silk threads symbolize the brave blood that flows through our veins. The gold insignia represents the honor of the warrior's heart." She explains, Sokka smiles to himself.

"Bravery and honor," He says proudly.
"Hey, Sokka!" I hear Aang say, we turn to him. "Nice dress." He says laughing as he walks away. Sokka's shoulders slump as his pride is momentarily crushed. I laugh at his expression, he turns and glares at me, but I continue to laugh anyway.

Later.

Sokka and Suki had been training for a few hours now, but Sokka couldn't get the move down.
"You're not going to master it in one day. Even I'm not that good." Suki tells him.
"I think I'm starting to get it," Sokka says as he continues to practice the moves and at the end of the set, he accidentally throws his fan out the door and into a tree. Suki and I look out the door at the lost fan as snow falls from the branches above, burying it.

"It's not about strength. Our technique is about using your opponents' force against them," Suki tels him. "Loosen up. Think of the fan as an extension of your arm." She says to him as she takes a stance in front of him. "Wait for an opening and then..." She says as she lunges at Sokka, he eludes the thrust, knocking her off her feet and making her fall. She shows her surprise and embarrassment as she looks up from her spot on the floor.
"Good job, Sokka!" I say with a smile as I clap my hands.

"Hmm..." Sokka hums as he crosses his arms in a 'so there' fashion.
"I fell on purpose to make you feel better!" Suki says frustrated.
"I got you! Admit it I got you!" Sokka states as he smiles at her.
"Okay, it was a lucky shot," Suki says with a small smile. "Let's see if you can do it again," She says as she stands up. They continue to spar. Sokka dodges a thrust and they both smile.
"Not bad," Suki says impressed, we all turn to the door as we hear footsteps and see a man.
"Firebenders have landed on our shores! Girls come quickly!" He tells us frantically.

"Hey, I'm not a...oh, whatever!" Sokka says as we run out of the hut. We run into the village and see a bunch of soldiers heading our way.
"Sokka, I'm going to find Aang!" I shout over to him, he looks concerned but nods.
"Be careful!" He shouts back.
"You too!" I say as I turn around and begin to search for him. After a few minutes of searching, I spot him running toward the village.
"Elua!" Aang shouts as he sees me and runs over. "Zuko's here!" He tells me.

"I know, come on!" I say as we both begin to run towards the village that is now burning.
"Nice try, Avatar! But these little girls can't save you." Zuko says as he stands in the middle of the burning village, the Kyoshi Warriors struggling to stand up.
"Hey! Over here!" Aang and I shout from behind him.
"Finally!" Zuko says as he turns to us. Zuko and Aang face each other, he lets loose three consecutive fireballs from his hands.

Aang dodges them, he spins his staff quickly and uses it to fly toward Zuko. Zuko shoots another blast of fire, which knocks Aang's staff out of his hands. As Aang leaps away, I pick up two discarded fans from the ground. Zuko runs full force at me, I use the fans to throw an enormous gust of air at him. The air knocks Zuko through the wall of a building, I drop the fans and pick up Aang's staff. I rush over to him and hand it to him, he throws it into the air and flies over the now burning town.

I follow him using my own staff. We look behind us to see the statue of Avatar Kyoshi engulfed in flames, I look away sadly. We land next to Katara, who is helping a small child away from the flames. She looks over to us worriedly.
"Look what I brought to this place," Aang says sadly.
"It's not your fault," Katara tells him.
"She's right, It's not," I tell him truthfully.
"Yes, it is. These people got their town destroyed trying to protect me." Aang states.

"Then let's get out of here. Zuko will leave Kyoshi to follow us," I tell him, he looks at me unsurely. I sigh as I look around and then back down at him. "I know it feels wrong to run, but I think it's the only way," I tell him. he looks at me sadly, knowing I'm right.
"I'll call Appa," Aang says hanging his head, feeling shameful for running. A few minutes later Appa lands in front of us, we quickly jump on.

"Sokka, Come on!" I shout as he runs over to us. He quickly runs up Appa's tail.
"Appa, yip yip!" Aang says, Appa begins to fly up and we take off into the sky.
"I know it's hard, but you did the right thing," Katara tells him. "Zuko would have destroyed the whole place if we had stayed." She states.
"They're going to be okay, Aang," I tell him. Without a word, Aang suddenly dives off of Appa's head into the bay, a determined expression on his face.

"What are you doing!?" Katara and I shout as he dives into the water. We watch in horror as Aang disappears under the water. Several seconds go by before the unagi bursts out of the water, Aang riding on it its back. He has hold of both whiskers and forces the unagi's head towards the burning village of Kyoshi, he pulls back on the whiskers and the unagi spews water over the village.

The stream continues long enough to put out the fires Zuko and his army had set. The unagi rears its head and Aang jumps into the air just as Appa swoops down. Appa catches Aang in his front paws. Aang climbs onto Appa's saddle.
"I know, I know. That was stupid and dangerous." Aang says.
"Yes, it was," Katara says as she hugs him. I smile at my little brother, proud of him.
"Elua?" I hear Sokka say behind me, I look over to him with a small smile.

"Yes?" I say as I tilt my head.
"I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for what I said about girls," Sokka says as he moves to sit beside me. "I shouldn't have treated you as if you were weak, because you aren't," He states.
"Thank you," I say with a smile. "Nevertheless, I may be able to fight, but I'm still a girl," I say as I lean over to him and kiss his cheek. He looks at me surprised, he touches his now red face. I smile in amusement as I stand up and walk over to the front of Appa's saddle, I take the reigns as we fly over the sea.