A Second Avatar [Rewriting/Editing]

Thief!

In celebration of gaining 7,000 reads, I have come to post the updated chapters and would like to announce that my motivation has in fact returned. If for what ever reason you would like to read the original, just message me and I'll send it over.

For fourteen years I have been on the streets. My family (if you can call them that) are the local thugs; a mixture of master benders, skilled swordsmen and archers, and talented street fighters, though none of them are the type to trust. I however have no other family, being abandoned to the streets of Gaoling, a large Earth Kingdom town I call home.

The gift of being a water bender has helped me become a master thief, and being a master thief requires you to know the streets. By knowing the streets, you can keep track of everything, right?

~●~

I ducked into the mansion's window, careful not to catch any guard's attention. I dodged around a corner and crept down a long hallway, keeping my alertness on check. I reached the end and peeked around the corner, quickly spotting a faint light.

Guards coming. I thought. I reached down to my cloth belt and unscrewed my water container. I bent the water in a well rehearsed movement and surrounded my hands and feet before flicking the water up to the ceiling, ripping me off my feet and taking me with it. The water froze just as a lone guard rounded the corner.

In the candlelight his face showed a confused look, like he had seen a shadow around the corner but found no person to attach it to. He very well could have seen my shadow though; it was a pretty close call...

The man continued walking until he stopped right under me and stayed there, looking for any evidence of another person.

The feeling of sweat forming on my face gave me the urge to rub it away as my heart began to race. You would think that after doing this for almost thirteen years that I would be used to hanging over a guard by now.

Anyways, the guard must not have known I was there because he scratched his head and walked down another hallway.

I sighed quietly, just now realizing that I'd forgotten to breath, and eased myself back onto the ground before going up a nearby set of stairs.

After reaching to the top of the steps, I took a few lefts and found myself in front of a large mahogany door with a beautifully carved border. Huh, I guess Ty Juan wasn't lying about the directions. I made a mental note to thank the trader when I saw him next.

I was surprised however that there were no guards by the door, but I shrugged off the thought as a stroke of luck and opened the large door.

Inside was a huge pastel green room with darker green and gold accents. There was beautiful oak furniture scattered around the room in a very staged fashion that highlighted the large bed before me. I saw two rising and falling lumps under the covers and knew that I had thankfully not awakened the sleeping Beifongs. If they woke up now I'd be in a huge heap of trouble!

Spotting a suspicious vanity on the far wall, I crept towards it and opened the top drawer.

My heart lurched as it gave a horrific screeching sound. I spun around, dreading that I just blew it, but the spouses were still fast asleep.

Few! I thought and turned back around, hoping to see what was inside. There, surrounded by makeup, brushes, and cloths for who-knows-what was a small white chest that gave off a faint blue glow in the moonlight.

Knowing I had found Poppy's jewelry box, I threw it (gently) into a potato sack I brought with me, smiling like an idiot as I made my to the window on the other side of the room. Just as I thought I was in the clear I did something really stupid.

I tripped over my own feet.

I mentally slapped myself for being such an idiot to trip over my feet again. It happens all the time in crucial moments! To my despair I heard a snorting-like noise from the bed and Mrs. Beifong sat up.

Please don't see me, please don't see me! I thought vainly since I was to far from any furniture to duck behind.

Poppy rubbed her eyes and yawned before looking in my direction. Her eyes widened and she blinked.

I blinked wide-eyed back.

She screamed.

I screamed back.

"Thief! Thief!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Her husband woke up and yelled for the guards. Now the whole house sounded like a labor of badgermoles were trampling to the room.

I scrambled to my feet and bolted for the window. Just as I pushed the glass open a group of raging green burst into the room.

Shooot!

Before I could think about it I jumped out the window just as the guards leapt for me. Tumbling through the air, I managed to unscrew my container lid and bend a cushion of water beneath me just as I was about to hit the ground. I rolled off it and ran towards the stonewall, leaving the water to splash into a puddle. I could hear the guards yelling that I was outside and the sound of Mrs. Beifong screaming that her jewelry was gone. What did she think I had in the bag, one of those pieces of cloth?

I quickly realized that the last border between me and freedom was being guarded by earth benders. Why do they have to be earth benders? Can't they do something that won't break through water, like fire benders?

....

I take that back. I've never met a fire bender before and I hope it stays that way.

But still, it would be nice.

The guards smashed their feet into the ground and sent hurling boulders at me. I leaped above the projectiles just as they struck the ground where I had been. The benders sent another round at me. I dodged through the rocks, weaving in and out of the openings like a snake.

I spun around the last rock and found myself about to run into a guard. Can't stop now! I surged off the ground and landed on his round helmet. The man screamed and staggered at the sudden weight on his head. I'm not that heavy, am I? Deciding that it would be bad for the man's health, I let my feet fall onto his shoulders and leant him to stagger in the direction of the wall beside us.

The other guards realized what was happening and ran for us. Feeling the sweat bead on my temple, I readjusted my balance and pushed off of the man's shoulders, causing him to fall behind me as I landed on top of the wall. Ducking to avoid a hazardous rock, I leapt off the wall and started for Gaoling, running in a zigzag to avoid the rocks still aimed for my head.

I began to slow down my pace as the first house came into sight. I'd like to say it was to avoid suspicion as to why a teenager was running through the streets in the middle of the night with a potato bag, but it was more so because I was winded.

After passing by the earth bending school, I turned into an ally that led to the poorer side of town. There awaited my hut made from sticks, mud, and some bricks I had made. I closed the stick door behind me, dropped the jewelry box bag, and flopped onto my little mat, falling asleep instantly.