The Warrior and the Prince

5: The Water-Bending Scroll

 The four of us were flying on the back of Appa, above the fluffy clouds as the sun set in the distance. Three out of four of us were calm whilst one was pacing back and forth, a worried look on his face. "Aang what is wrong? You've been pacing for half an hour now," I finally cracked and asked him.

"It's about what Avatar Roku said back at the temple! He told me I had to master all four elements before Sozin's comet arrives next summer, otherwise it'll be catastrophic!" Aang panicked.

"Well lets see... you pretty much mastered air-bending and that only took you 112 years," Sokka said sarcastically but it did not amuse Aang.

"Wait, Sozin was the Firelord that started this one hundred year long war, right?" I asked and the trio nodded. "So this comet is meant to give the fire-benders some sort of power?"

"A power they'll use to annihilate everything!" Aang panicked.

"We've got time Aang. We're headed to the North Pole remember, to get you a master," Katara tried to comfort him but he sighed.

"But we're still weeks away from the North Pole!" Aang exclaimed.

"Calm down, it's going to be okay. I can teach you some of the stuff I know," Katara suggested and Aang's face lit up. "We'll need to find a good source of water."

"How about that?" I looked over the edge of Appa's saddle and saw a picturesque, large waterfall leading to a river surrounded by gorgeous plants and trees. Appa landed on the edge of the river, the four of us looking at the beautiful place in awe. It didn't take long for the bison to bellyflop into the water to cool down.

"Don't start without me boy!" Aang called, about to jump into the water but Katara stopped him.

"Remember why we're here," she said sternly.

"Oh right, water-bending," Aang rubbed the back of his head.

"Okay, well... what are we supposed to do," I gestured Sokka and myself.

"You could clean up Appa?" Aang suggested, handing us branches to use as combs. The pair of us folded our arms in unison and raised our eyebrows.

"So while you two are having fun splashing out, we have to be cleaning mud off of a flying bison?"

"Mud and bugs," Aang said nonchalantly.

"Okay," Sokka finally said, taking the branches.

"If you think I'm gonna be cleaning a gunk from Appa's toes you've got another thing coming," I said, heading towards the saddle we took off of him moments ago to get my bag and swords.

"Well have you got something better to do?" Sokka asked.

"Actually yes. I've got to take care of my swords," I pulled them from their sheath and smirked as Sokka's eyes lit up the way they always did when I revealed them. He immediately came over and sat on the edge of the water with me, our feet dangled in the water. "You know your club could do with a bit of maintenance, and your boomerang could probably do with sharpening. Want me to give it a go?"

"No, I can take care of my own weapons," he said proudly, pulling out his worn down club.

"Really? Then what are all these dents and scratches on it?" I raised my eyebrow running my fingertip along the edge.

"War wounds! It shows it's been in fights!"

"Really? Because from what I see it looks like it's been neglected," I laughed and Sokka pouted. "Your weapon is like an extension of yourself. You need to treat it with the same care you give yourself. You need to look after it, and it will look after you."