Balance | Old Version

Chapter 11 (The King Of Omashu)

Elua's POV.

We had just landed on a grassy hill outside of the great city of Omashu. I look over to the walls of Omashu that sit on a tall mountain in front of us.
"The Earth Kingdom city of Omashu!" Aang says as he looks at the city smiling. "I used to always come here to visit my friend, Bumi," He tells Katara and Sokka.
"Wow. We don't have cities like this in the South Pole." Katara says.
"They have buildings here that don't melt!" Sokka says in amazement.

"Well, let's go slowpokes! The real fun is inside the city!" Aang says as he starts to walk towards the walls but I grab his arm.
"Wait, Aang! It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar." I tell him.
"You need a disguise," Sokka says.
"So, what am I supposed to do? Grow a mustache?" Aang asks. Sokka looks over to Appa, who is shedding.

"That's it!"

A Little While Later.

Sokka had used Appa's fur to make a fake beard and very tall hair for Aang.
"Ohh, this is so itchy!" Aang says as he itches his face and head. "How do you live in this stuff?" He asks Appa, who just continues to eat grass and look disinterested.
"Great! Now you look just like my grandfather." Sokka says nodding his head.
"Technically, Aang is 112 years old," Katara says, she then turns to me. "And you're around 115," She says. I frown, that's weird to think about at all.

"Now let's get to skippin', young whippersnappers! The big city awaits." Aang says. He begins to walk using his staff like a cane as we start to make our way towards the city bridge.
"Oh, Elua, here," Sokka says as he holds a white scarf-like thing.
"What's this for?" I ask him in confusion.
"To hide the arrow on your forehead." He tells me. I had forgotten about that.
"Oh, right, thanks," I say as he reaches over me and gently ties it around my forehead.

"You guys are gonna love Omashu. The people here are the friendliest in the world," Aang tells them as he walks happily. We see a guard and a man with a cart full of cabbages at the gates.
"Rotten cabbages! What kind of slum do you think this is?" The guard shouts as he Earthbends the cart of cabbages over the bridge.
"Noo! My cabbages!" The man shouts in despair.
"Just keep smiling," I tell them as I put on a big exaggerated smile.

"State your business!" The guard shouts.
"My business is my business, young man, and none of yours! I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!" Aang shouts at him, pretending to be an old man.
"Settle down, old-timer. Just tell me who you are." The guard says calmly.
"Name's Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicopolis, the Third, and these are my grandkids," Aang tells him.
"Hi, June Pipinpadaloxicopolis. Nice to meet you." I say to the guard with a fake smile.

"You seem like a responsible young lady," The guard says as he nods. "See that your grandfather stays out of trouble. Enjoy Omashu!" He tells us with a smile as the gate opens.
"We will!" I say as we start to walk towards the gate.
"Wait a minute!" The guard says. We turn around worriedly. "You're a strong young boy. Show some respect for the elderly and carry your grandfather's bag," He orders Sokka.
"Good idea!" Aang says as he tosses his bag to Sokka, who looks at him annoyed.

We walk into the city and look around in awe of the big city.
"It's much bigger then it was 100 years ago," I say as we walk toward the mailing system.
"This is the Omashu delivery system. Miles and miles of tubes and chutes. Earthbending brings the packages up and gravity brings them down." Aang explains.
"Great, so they get their mail on time," Sokka says in confusion.
"They do get their mail on time, but my friend Bumi found a better use for these chutes..." Aang says. I glare at him suspiciously as he smiles at me nervously, he better not be doing what I think he's doing...

Flashback.

Third-person POV.

A young boy with spiky orange hair tied with a headband looks out over the city of Omashu. Aang stands beside the boy, Bumi, who smiles at him. A tooth missing from his mouth and an insane facial expression.
"Look around you, what do you see?" Bumi asks Aang, he looks confused as he turns to the city.
"Umm...the mail system?" Aang asks, confused as he looks at the city before him.
"Instead of seeing what they want you to see, you gotta open your brain to the possibilities," Bumi says, Aang still looks confused.

"...A package sending system?" Aang asks, Bumi shakes his head.
"The world's greatest super slide!" Bumi says as he throws his hands out, Aang smiles.
"Bumi, you're a mad genius!" Aang says. Bumi smiles widely, laughs and snorts. They get into one of the rock baskets and slide down the mailing system. When they get to the bottom, they see Elua standing there.
"Aang! Don't do that!" She scolds him.
"Do what?" Aang asks, playing dumb.

"You know what! It was dangerous!" She tells him, Aang frowns at her strange attitude. She wasn't normally one to worry about such things, yet she was.
"It was fun, you should try it!" Bumi says laughing. Elua sighs.
"No thank you, Bumi." She tells him kindly. "I just don't want you to get hurt," She tells Aang, he gives her a small smile.
"I won't Elua," Aang tells her.
"We should get back to the air temple," Elua tells him. She doesn't seem herself, she seems...sad.

"Okay," Aang says as he turns to his friend, "Bye Bumi!" He says with a smile, he then turns back around and follows his sister as they make their way over to Appa.
"See you soon, Aang!" Bumi shouts as they take off. Aang moves over and sits by Elua, he smiles at her. He felt as though she needed someone to talk to, so he thought he would be the one.
"So, where have you been for the last few weeks?" Aang asks her, she doesn't look down at him.

"The Fire Nation palace." She says simply.
"Oh, visiting Azulon?" He asks, he already knew the answer though.
"Yeah, he was helping me with my Firebending." She tells him, sadness lingering in her eyes.
"Cool!" Aang says smiling. "So, are you going back soon?" He asks her.
"Um...No. I don't think I'll go back for quite a while." She answers, sadness lingering in her eyes.
"Oh. How come?" Aang questions, concerned by his sister's sadness.

"No reason, he's just going to be busy for a while," Elua states, it was a lie though.
"Did something happened?" He asks her worriedly.
"No, everything is alright," She says with a small smile, he yawns as a tired look washes over him. "Why don't you take a nap? It will take a few hours to get back." She tells him, he nods.
"Okay," Aang says as he lays down on Appa's saddle. "Goodnight Elua," He says as he closes his eyes.

"Goodnight."

End Of Flashback

Elua's POV.

"One ride, then we're off to the North Pole, Airbender's honor," Aang tells me, I shake my head.
"What!? Aang no!" I whisper-shout to him.
"Oh, come on Elua!" Aang pleads.
"No, I told you it was dangerous 100 years ago, I will say it again," I tell him shaking my head.
"Wait what? When did you tell him that?" Sokka asks confused.

"When Bumi and I did this, Elua saw us when she was coming back from the Fire Nation and-" Aang starts to explain but Sokka interrupts.
"Fire Nation!?" He shouts in shock as he looks at me with wide eyes.
"Shh!" We all exclaim.
"You were in the Fire Nation?" Sokka asks me quietly, I nod.

"Why in the world would you-" I cut him off, not wanted to talk about it right now.
"I'll explain it to you later," I tell him.
"Come on, Elua. Please?" Aang asks me. I look at him and see he's pulling 'the face' as I call it.
"That's not fair, you know when you do that I can't say no!" I say. He keeps looking at me like that. I groan in annoyance.
"Fine," I sigh. "One time, once!" I emphasize, he smiles wide.

"Yay!"