Avatar: The First Sandbender

Chapter Two: Reflection

Book One: Glass

Chapter Two: Reflection

When they finally emerged from the ground, Teeva coughed up a heavy assortment of sand particles and dirt. As she gasped for air she reflected on how much she despised having control over her own breathing taken from her, and how easily the boy could navigate the darkness. It was as if it was a play pen for him, and an endless death trap for her. As a child, Teeva's mother had developed a rather poor habit of locking her away in the broom closet to avoid dealing with her.  Spending hours staring at the darkened walls with nothing but the sound of your own voice would drive most mad, but Teeva did what she did best; adapted. Still, despite the tenuous situation they had found themselves in, seeing the night sky once more was reassuring.

"I can't believe it was a set-up," Teeva muttered as she caught her breath. "I knew we should've changed your name, boy. It's a dead give-away."

Hami had taken a seat upon a nearby rock, his arms locked around his knees. "Of course you'd blame me for this."

"I'm not blaming you, I'm just pointing out one logical reason for how we may have been discovered," She snapped back. "Now isn't the time to do what you normally do and pretend to mope, they're going to be right behind us."

Teeva glanced back towards the Oasis. The springs were in rather clear view, partially thanks to the open night sky and partially due to the hill they had resurfaced on. Lights were beginning to emerge from the gates, and it wouldn't be long before any of the various trackers made their way to them. She knew the boy probably felt a whole slew of emotions as a result of their ambush. Teeva was the one who had hyped up this performance for weeks, claiming it would be the make or break of his career. Reflecting on it hindsight as they were now on the run for their lives, it may have not been ideal to place that much pressure on the mind of a developing young artist. But to be fair, she technically wasn't wrong.

"C'mon Hami, we've made some distance but you and I both know how motivated sandfolk can get by any shake of gold. We've gotta keep moving," Teeva said, placing a reassuring hand on Hami's shoulder.

Hami pulled away and kept his eyes locked downward, silent and foreboding. Why was he so bent out of shape over a simple performance gone wrong?

"Alright, whatever," Teeva said, rolling her eyes and making her way forward down the sandy hill. "Sit here and get yourself captured. See if I care."

Hami stayed seated and didn't respond. Teeva felt the red rushing to her cheeks; her bluff hadn't worked. That wasn't a typical response, as the kid was usually rather easy to convince if he were going to be left on his own. Attachment issues. And she couldn't make it anywhere quickly without some of his bending to ease the path. They'd catch up to her while Hami could just hide in the sand.

Suddenly, the sands before her solidified and smoothed into an easily traversable path. "I can keep the road going for a little while to give you a headstart, but my bending only goes so far."

Teeva glanced back at the boy, and felt her heart falter. Of course he'd still try to help her. Even when she rejected him, it was clear his exterior was trying to hide the woes of his heart. The boy was scared and probably felt as though he'd let her down. How sympathetic of him.

"Hami..." She responded, a gentle smile crossing her lips. "Come on kid, you know I'm not just going to leave you out here. We're blood."

Hami buried his face into his arms. "Tonight was supposed to be our night, Teev. We we're going to leave the desert, start a better life. I promised you that. But I got distracted by a girl, and you almost got captured. I'm so dumb."

"You're not dumb, kid."

"I am. I'm dumb for thinking things could change. I'm dumb for thinking anyone would see me as more than just a criminal. I'm dumb for thinking this stupid bending of mine would be the key to getting us a better life, I'm just-"

Teeva embraced the boy in a hug, bringing him close into her arms and silencing his thoughts. She knew how easy it was for him to place the weight of their lives on his shoulders. She was the one who'd given him that burden and had hardly even realized it. That wasn't fair to him. He was only sixteen, a mere child. A child who had spent his entire life on the run, often from choices Teeva herself had made.

It wasn't fair.

She was meant to guide him towards a better path, and here she was, using him just as she'd used everyone else in her life.

"Kid, don't you ever go thinking any of this is your fault, alright?" She said, pulling herself  away and wiping away Hami's tears. "We just got outplayed, that's all. But we're the master players in this game, right? C'mon, has anyone ever even come close to beating us at Pai Sho?"

Hami laughed gently through his tears. "No! But that's because you always cheat!"

"But you don't cheat, and that's what matters!" Teeva boasted in response.

The boy's spirits seemed to be returning, and Teeva sighed a breath of relief. She kept her eyes trained on his, grateful to see some joy cascading through them in the desert moonlight. She wasn't proud of most of the choices she'd made over the course of her life, but she knew Hami was the one thing she had made the right call on. Saving him right now was all that mattered.

"Do your thing, Urvi!"

With a sudden screech, Teeva watched as the light from Hami's eyes dimmed before her, his body falling into the sand helplessly. Behind the boy's was a tiny girl holding an eye-less creature with a star shaped nose. It was withdrawing it's tongue back into it's body, and upon the sight of the pair Teeva's street instincts kicked in. She drew her axes and charged the pair in one swift motion, prepared to strike them down where they stood.

Her weapons, however, found themselves falling just short of their target, held off by daggers of pure fire.

"Yikes! I saw that bloodthirst of yours, lady," The masked firebender before her remarked, a hint of arrogance in her tone. "Willing to strike down a child so quickly in the midst of battle? Who raised you?"

Teeva scoffed, pushing the fighter's daggers back with pure force and keeping her distance from the paralyzing creature. "I was raised to protect those you love from anyone who'd do them harm. I'd say that kid counts as harm, given the circumstance."

The masked firebender laughed. "How noble of you. My sister brought no harm to the boy, he's simply... Immbolized, for our own safety of course."

Teeva glanced towards Hami, and it seemed that what the firebender said was true. He wasn't bleeding, and looked relatively unharmed. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"But I'd worry more about yourself than the boy pretender, thief."

Teeva felt a sudden shock go up her leg, and fell to her knees. How? She'd kept her distance from the creature from before, she was certain the girl was still behind the firebender. Keeping her balance on one of her axes, a quick glance behind allows her to catch sight of a massive star-nosed creature keeping guard.

"There was.. two of them.." She managed to mutter as she collapsed helplessly into the sand.