The Other Airbender

7

I breathed in. The warm sea breeze tickled my face and the salty air clung to my lips. I breathed out. Come on Miko, you can do this, you did it before. Let go your earthly tether. That's it, feel the emptiness. I emptied my head of thoughts, and I felt my feelings slowly draining away, as though they were being washed down a sink. Enter the void, empty, and become wind.

The breeze blew gently again, and I opened my eyes as I felt a sense of weightlessness wash over me. The ocean waves crashed against the sea cliffs far down below, and seagulls were flying closer to me than before. I was flying again. The same empty feeling settled inside me as I floated above the clouds. I knew the general direction that prisoners were taken, and so I set off towards where I thought Haru would be. 

The clouds surrounding me began to fade into darker, dirtier colours. Like ash. And the unmistakable scent of smoke began to clog my nose. I knew I was getting close. These were telling signs of the Fire Nation. A ship would be nearby, hopefully housing Haru, and all Fire Nation ships let out large clouds of smoke when they were used. I drifted higher into the clouds, trying to hide a bit better, and become less noticeable. I breathed a sigh of relief as the sun began to sink below the horizon, making it easier for me to fly around openly without anyone seeing me. The only problem now is that I need to find that ship quick, because it will be almost impossible to find in the dark. 

The smell of smoke was getting increasingly stronger, and the air was getting much thicker. I had to be close, I just couldn't pinpoint an exact spot as to where the ship would be. I had started regulating my breathing with airbending so as not to breathe in smoke, and it beginning to dry up my throat. The salty sea air wasn't helping either. I needed to find the ship soon before the sun disappeared entirely. Which wasn't long. The sky was already filled with orange and pink hues, which were reflected in the dark, rippling sea. I would have stopped to appreciate it if I weren't in such a hurry. Where is it? Come on Miko, a big metal Fire Nation ship can't be that hard to spot. 

I was going around in circles at this point, hopelessly wondering where on earth the ship was. I swear I'm blind, I've probably past it about ten times. I sighed in defeat. The last few rays of sun faded into a black night, and I could barely see a thing. Wait a second. A light flashed in my eyes and I blinked. Of course, you're an idiot Miko. It would be easier to find at night, because of the increased security, so there were light beams swinging around the boat to detect any suspicious activities. The light caught my eyes again. I could see the faint dark outline of the boat now, and I cautiously floated towards it, carefully avoiding the light. 

My feet touched the cool metal, and I grabbed onto the metal fence. There were a couple of guards walking along the edge of the ship, but I needed to land before the light could land on me. I thought I heard whispering in the dark somewhere, but I was probably imagining things. I needed to hide quick. Or maybe I could get caught on purpose and rescue Haru? So I should just wait for them to round the corner? 

A silvery silhouette caught my eye. My breath caught in my already dry throat. I couldn't have just seen that. It was definitely a flying bison. A flying bison? Here? Is the Avatar here? What's he doing here? It was probably just my imagination, it can't be.  But I heard the gasps of the guards I was waiting for.

"Look!" I heard one exclaim. Was there really a flying bison? Or maybe it was something else, a big bird maybe? But birds are not furry with six paws and arrows decorated across their bodies. I couldn't believe it, I had just seen a real life flying bison. I smiled inwardly to myself, the idea that I had met, albeit just a glimpse of one, one of the original airbenders, made my heartbeat increase. But that feeling was short-lived, as I felt the strong grasp of one of the guards around my arm, and I flinched when I saw the Fire Nation clothing so close to me.

"What are you doing out of bed, earthbender?" The other guard sneered. But his eyes were flashing with confusion at what he had just seen. The guard gripping my shoulder was the same. 

"I uhh- I was just taking a walk," I laughed sheepishly, "c'mon boys, I'll just climb right back into bed, so if you would kindly let go of my arm then-"

"Like we would do that," One smirked, "Nice try."

"Let's take her to the warden."

I let them both lead me towards the warden, listening to them muttering to each other about what they had seen. We approached the warden from behind, his long grey hair swishing as he turned to face us. 

"What do you want?" He scorned, but his expression lifted when he noticed me. "Oh? And what do we have here?"

"We found her out of bed, sir, outside of the fence." One of the soldiers clarified. The warden's mouth lifted into a smug grin, his moustache moving with it. I held back a small smile, it looked funny. 

"Did you think you could escape, dear earthbender?" He gloated, "Once you were there, did you realise you had nowhere to go? Was our hospitality not enough for you?" I stared at him in defiance, not wanting to respond. 

"Answer the warden." One of the guards urged me, his face sinking in fear. 

"Did you not hear him?" The warden asked, smirking. I opened my mouth to speak before hesitating. I chose to spit on his boots instead. His smirk turned into a scowl, glaring at me. 

"Take her to solitary, two weeks should do just fine to teach that pretty face a lesson." The sour look on his face faded into satisfaction. My eyes widened. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. I was just supposed to be taken to the sleeping area. Damn it, you idiot. 

"Yes, sir." The guards said in unison, turning around and gripping my arms even tighter. 

"Wait, sir," One stopped in his tracks, "There's something else." The warden frowned.

"Spit it out."

"Well I- we saw something uhh..." The guard trailed off, trying to form what he saw into words. The warden raised an eyebrow, annoyed.

"Tell me exactly what you saw and don't waste my time, and you," The warden pointed to the other guard, "Continue what you were supposed to be doing while I talk to your friend here." His gaze lingered on me for a second before turning back to the guard who was speaking. I looked away in dismay as the guard yanked me towards the bottom of the ship. How was I going to get out of this?