Balance | Old Version

Chapter 25

Elua's POV.

"I don't think these pirates are here to trade with us!" I say as the Pirates hold their weapons ready to attack us, we quickly turn and begin to run away from them.
"Get back here!" One of them yells as we run down an alley. We turn the corner around a building, pirates in pursuit of us. As we pass the corner, Katara waterbends some water from a nearby stall onto the ground and freezes it making the lead pirate slip and hit the ground.

We bump into a cart and knock off cabbages, the merchant looking at us angrily. We run down another alley, but when we turn the next corner we are met by the pirate and his men. We turn around and run back the way we came.
"I hope that lemur of yours has nine lives!" One of the pirates shouts as we turn into a blocked alley. We turn around to face our pursuers, that are now blocking the entrance.
"Now, who gets to take the steel of my blade first?" The pirate asks as he smirks and holds up his daggers.

"No thanks!" Aang says as he airbends a huge gust of wind at the Pirates, who are blinded with dust and become disoriented. Aang and I begin to rush ahead while opening our gliders, Katara and Sokka run behind us. Katara grabs onto Aang's leg, and Sokka grabs mine.
"Hold on tight!" Aang shouts as we begin to glide towards the pirates.
"Aang, I thought we were running away from the pirates!" Katara shouts.

"Just hang on!" Aang shouts. We have trouble gaining elevation at first, we bounce off the heads of a few pirates and we eventually become airborne. Katara and Sokka shout in fear as we fly high into the sky and make our way back to the waterfall.
"I used to kinda look up to pirates, but those guys are terrible," Aang says as we land back on the ground and close our gliders.
"I know, that's why I took, this!" Katara says as she holds out the waterbending scroll.
"Katara..." I trail off as I stare at her in shock.

"Isn't it great?" Katara asks smiling.
"No wonder they were trying to hack us up. You stole their waterbending scroll!" Sokka says unhappily.
"I prefer to think of it as 'high-risk trading.'" Katara says, using the fraise the pirates used.
"Haha! Good one, Katara." Aang says laughing, Sokka crosses his arms and glares at his sister.
"Sokka, where do you think they got it?" Katara asks. "They stole it from a waterbender." She states. Sokka sighs and shakes his head.

"It doesn't matter. You put all of our lives in danger," I tell her, disappointment laced in my tone.
"Yeah, just so you could learn some stupid, fancy splashes!" Sokka shouts angrily.
"These are real waterbending forms. You know how crucial it is for Aang to learn waterbending." Katara says, raising her voice.
"Whatever," Sokka remarks as he turns around and stomps away from us.
"Well, what's done is done. We have it. We might as well learn from it." Aang says shrugging.

Sunset.

"I just want to try this one move first and then it's all yours," Katara says as lays out the scroll on a tree stump. She looks at it and smiles as she walks over to the river. Aang holds open the scroll for her as she leans backward, taking the waterbending stance guided in the scroll.
"'The single water whip'...looks doable." She says with a small smile as she raises a stream of water and whips it around, but it hits her in the forehead leaving a red mark. Sokka laughs as he sits on a rock behind her, Katara frowns as she turns to him.

"What's so funny?" Katara asks him annoyed.
"I'm sorry, but you deserve that," Sokka says. "You've been duped. She's only interested in teaching herself," He tells Aang. I have to say, he's probably right.
"Aang will get his turn once I figure out the water whip!" Katara states. She tries again, but the whip acts unevenly and accidentally hits Momo, who screams at her in compliant.
"Why can't I get this stupid move!" Katara shouts angrily.

"You'll get it," Aang tells her, she looks annoyed at this statement, surely expecting Aang to show her up once again. I stand up and walk over to help her before Aang does, knowing she would probably get mad or yell, or both.
"You have to shift your weight through the stances," I tell her as I take a waterbending stance, I lift up a stream of water and fling it forward, doing the water whip.
"There. See, the key to waterbending is-" I start to instruct her but, she cuts me off.
"Will you PLEASE shut your air hole!" Katara suddenly shouts.

"Believe it or not, your infinite wisdom gets a little old sometimes!" She yells in anger, I take a deep breath and stay calm.
"I'm just trying to help you," I tell her smoothly, but she doesn't seem to care.
"Why don't we just throw the scroll away since you seem to already mastered it!" Katara shouts to Aang and I, I sigh as I look over to Aang and see he looks like he's on the verge of tears.
"Katara, that's enough," I tell her with a glare softly.

"And Aang is so naturally gifted!" She shouts angrily. I shake my head at Katara as walk over to Aang and put my hand on his shoulder, he looks at me sadly.
"Katara!" Sokka shouts to her.
"What?" She asks as she turns to Sokka, who has an unimpressed look on his face. He points over to Aang as I console him, she turns and gasps.
"Oh my gosh, Aang, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me," Katara says sadly. "But, you know what, it won't happen again," She says as she walks over to the scroll and rolls it up.

"Here, this is yours. I don't want to have anything to do with it anymore." Katara says as she hands the scroll to Aang.
"It's okay, Katara," Aang tells her as he takes the scroll.
"What about Elua?" Sokka asks, Katara turns to me sadly.

"I'm sorry, Elua," Katara says to me.
"It's alright, Katara," I say with a kind forgiving smile.
"Everyone loses their temper at some point," I tell her, she nods in thanks.
"And Momo, he's the real victim here," Sokka says pointing to Momo, who sits on the ground.
"I'm sorry Momo," Katara says as she kneels down and pets him.
"And...what about me? There was that time you–" Sokka starts to say but is cut off.
"No more apologies!"

Later That Night.

I woke up hearing someone getting out of their sleeping bag, I open my eyes and turn over to see Katara grabbing the scroll. She begins walks but she walks into Momo who starts making noises.
"Shh! Momo, go back to sleep," Katara tells him as she walks over to the river. I quietly stand up and follow her down to the river. I watch as she tries to do the water whip, but fails.
"Shoot! Come on water, work with me here!" Katara says frustratedly.

"You're doing it wrong," I say as I walk over to her, she gasps and turns around.
"Elua! You scared me," Katara says as she puts her hand to her heart.
"Sorry," I say with a sheepish smile. "Here follow my moves," I tell her as I take a waterbending stance, Katara copies my moves and almost gets it right.
"Almost! Just remember to shift your weight through the stances and you'll get it," I tell her, she nods and smiles. We turn around as we hear the sound of grinding metal.

We run over to a row of bushes on our left and part them, only to see a ship docking on the shore. We turn to run, but a pirate stands behind us and he grabs us by the shoulders.
"Let go of us!" I demand as Katara bends some water, hitting the pirate in the head with us. He lets go of us and we run, only to be met with the face of a certain scarred prince.
"I'll save you from the pirates."