Avatar: The First Timebender

Chapter III [] Iso of Song []

Somewhere else, not so far away, in a run-down little village, a girl sat in an alley as the sun went down. An arrow sheath holding a parasol, a cloak, dozens of rolled up papers, and calligraphy tools rested against the stone wall behind her, and she carefully unslung a large shape, wrapped in patched cloth, from her shoulders. She gently placed it on the ground before her and pulled off the cloth, revealing a musical instrument of her own making, still being perfected. It was a rectangle with forty levers that, when pressed, triggered a stick beneath the lever that corresponded with it to hit a string, much like those on a pipa, only with a fuller sound, and more variety for playing multiple notes at once.

She pressed a lever and made a “bleh!” face as an unidentifiable note came out, and she turned the instrument over, revealing the strings, and started tightening one. She hummed a note and plucked the string, trying to get it to the same pitch as her voice.

“BUT I THOUGHT I—“

She leapt to her feet at the voice, manly, gruff, and comically loud. She quickly wrapped up the instrument, slung it over her shoulder, and pulled the arrow sheath over her other shoulder. She started out of the alley, heading towards the street, where there might be someone out—

“HEY YOU!”

She jumped back, nimble, as two hulking, muscled men rolled off of the roof to her left and landed before her, blocking her path.

“WE HEAR YOU’VE GOT SOMETHING THAT COULD MAKE US BIG MONEY.”

She raised an eyebrow as the men flexed their muscles. They both were tan and had handlebar mustaches, and wore dark green overalls.

She was perplexed by their bizarre appearance.

“Um, no, not really,” she said, starting to walk to their right. They ran in front of her, and the slightly larger man threw a ball of fire at her from his fist. She sidestepped it easily.

“You’re fire benders?” she asked, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. She tucked a few loose braids behind her ears.

“I AM!” said the larger man, “I’M GENERAL KOTEI’S COUSIN, AND HE PUT ME AND MY BROTHER IN CHARGE OF MAINTAINING PEACE ON THE STREETS! YOU MUST NOT BE FROM AROUND HERE!”

“No, I travel…”

“ALRIGHT THEN, TRAVELLER WITH EXPENSIVE THINGS, WE ORDER YOU IN THE NAME OF FIRE LORD OZAI TO HAND OVER YOUR BELONGINGS, OR FACE FIRE NATION PRISON!”

“I don’t care whether something is in the name of Ozai, and you’re not just gonna catch me and lock me up,” she said, hand moving to her hip, where her sword was concealed beneath her skirt.

“THEN YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE!”

The big brother unleashed a jet of fire straight at her, and she ran straight towards him as fast as she could. The flames danced across her vision, and she charged into them, flawlessly bending the fire around her and whipping out her sword, heading right for the man.

“YOU’RE A FIREBEN—“

She twirled the sword around and grabbed the blade in her gloved hands, hitting the man over the head with the hilt. The younger brother rushed at her, waving his beefy arms wildly, and she stuck her foot out and tripped him.

They both lay in the street, moaning.

She sheathed her sword and pulled her bags up tighter.

“I’m not a firebender. Don’t forget it.”

And, much further away, the boy pushed a raft into the placid sea, the horizon burning red as the sun set. He gazed upon the figurine longingly, and looked away as he grasped it in his fist and engulfed it in flames. A single tear slipped down his cheek, but when he placed the statue at the head of the raft, and a bright white line sped from the vessel and across the water and into the far distance, his heart lifted, and he felt a new determination to find his love, wherever she may be.