Hey guys just a warning, this is a verryyy long chapter. I hope you enjoy. As usual not my song or video, just another so I was listening to while writing. It's called Raindrop by Marnik x Harris & Ford (Lyrics) feat. Shibui Nightcore Remix by Syrex, go check them out! I absolutely adore this song, and I hope you like this song and this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Enjoy!
-Rose
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Lyra's POV
The boy looked to Aang and his eyes went wide,
"Wait, you're a real airbender. You must be the Avatar!" The boy exclaimed in excitement and continued,
"That's amazing! I've heard stories about you!" The boy ended with an excited smile.
Aang rubbed the back of his head with a guilty smile, probably for saying they had no spirit,
"Thanks" He said shyly.
Sokka was quick to interrupt and I could almost see the sparkle in his eyes as he went to examine the glider chair,
"Wow this glider chair is incredible!" Sokka exclaimed in fascination.
"If you think this is good, wait until you see the other stuff my dad designed" the boy stated proudly.
We followed after the boy, and the sound of pipes hissing and clanging made my throat choke up any words. All I could think was of Aang, and how much he undoubtedly hated it. Even Asura seemed uncomfortable.
I could feel the heat from the pipes filling the room and the sunlight settling uncomfortably hot on my already warm skin.
Aang's heartbeat jumped in anxiety and probably being uncomfortable with the scene of the sacred temple turned into an odd mechanical structure.
"Wow!" Sokka shouted in admiration.
"Whoa, that's a lot to take in" I breathed with an uncomfortable laugh.
"I thought you were blind, you don't look in any one direction when you hear a noise" the boy stated.
I coughed awkwardly, the air felt suddenly sticky at the subject.
Katara and Sokka let me answer, something that gave me a sense of freedom.
"I am, but it doesn't mean I can't sense stuff" I stated with a calm smile.
The boy shrugged in understanding, a middle ground was something we could both reach easily.
"My dad is the mastermind behind this whole place. Everything is powered by hot air. It even pumps hot air currents outside to give us a lift while gliding" the boy explained proudly.
"This place is unbelievable" Aang stated in disbelief, his tone didn't lean towards any single emotion but cold longing, pain, anger, and sadness that moved him.
"Yeah" the boy agreed, "It's great, isn't it?" The boy beamed.
I sighed a silent sigh, it's ironic in a way, y'know? The blind girl can see how people feel better than people who can actually see. The thought of this was like a pang in my chest and my lip curled slightly in distaste to the irony.
No one saw. I was glad. It didn't dampen the atmosphere, and no one noticed.
"No, just unbelievable" Aang stated unforgivingly and walked away.
"Aang used to come here a long time ago" Katara paused to choose her words, "I think he's a little shocked it's so-" Katara moved her hand trying to find the word,
"Different?" I answered for her and wiped the sweat off my forehead.
Katara nodded gratefully.
"-so better!" Sokka finished for himself in awe.
I stepped forward with Katara and Aang as I felt the hot steam in the pipes. I heard them hissing and I shifted uncomfortably on my feet.
I stepped back as they began to talk, I wasn't part of this conversation. It wasn't that I was being excluded, it was the fact that I knew where my place was, and I knew where I was needed, and it was not in this conversation.
Aang was clearly unsettled and we all sensed it. The boy was observant enough to notice an area untouched so he took us there.
Aang calmed at this and breathed deeply in the contrasting refreshing cold air as we arrived.
"It's nice to see at least one part of the temple that isn't ruined" Aang commented in relief.
I took a relieved breath as a light smile crossed my face.
The peace didn't last as my eyes widened in shock when I was tackled by Sokka when a voice called a second too late, a warning.
"LOOKOUT!" The voice bellowed.
I felt the air between me and the unknown object which swung right where I had been standing previously. Asura only hissed at the statue head in alarm.
"Holy shit!" I cursed to myself as my hands shook in shock.
I coughed as Katara brushed the larger bits of rubble off me.
"Are you okay?" she gasped as Aang helped me up.
I nodded as Sokka spoke,
"That was close" Sokka commented and coughed from the dust.
"You can say that again" I wheezed commedically.
"I think something just missed me" I stated in disbelief.
Sokka leaned and whispered in my ear not so quietly almost commedically,
"That would be an airbender statue head" He stated sounding the same as me.
The word 'airbender' seemed to register with Aang as he looked at the statue head that had just barely missed me.
Five figures I hadn't noticed before appeared through the opening in the wall.
"What the doodle, don't you know enough to stay away from construction sites? We have to make room for the bathhouse" The head figure scolded.
Asura did not like this and furled her wing out in intimidation.
This in combination with something as simple as a bathhouse seemed to edge Aang's anger forward even further.
"Do you know what you did? You just destroyed something sacred! For a stupid bathhouse!" Aang yelled furiously.
"Well people around here are starting to stink" the man stated waving his hand in front of his nose as his only explanation.
"This whole place stinks!" Aang yelled and sent a huge wave of air at the machine which had destroyed the wall. Aang continued angrily, "I've seen it when the monks were here. I know what it's supposed to be like!"
The old man seemed confused and a little shocked at Aang's airbending,
"The monks? But you're twelve" the old man stated.
I narrowed my eyes unimpressed, my bad mood leaked through my expression.
"Way to assume his age" I mumbled as Asura hooted beside me with a similar sassy expression and a wave of her head and left paw.
This interaction offset the man,
"What in the spirits is that thing?" The man stuttered.
This put me off guard, how exactly do you live in an air temple and not know what a cat-owl is?
"Uhhh- cat-owl?" I offered awkwardly.
The man leapt back a little bit at my voice,
"It's a spirit!" He shrieked in suprise.
I jumped back, equally surprised.
"Normal human being here" I waved awkwardly behind Asura after I took a second to recover.
Katara and Sokka nodded as Aang maintained focus on the man.
"Um, sorry to butt in- But dad that kid's the Avatar, he used to come here a hundred years ago" the boy explained trying to break the awkward tension.
"What are you doing? Who said you could be here?" Aang asked accusingly.
"Aang" I stated trying to calm him, Aang turned to me in desperation,
"but Lyra-" he began, I silenced him with a narrow glare my eyes uncovered, something I had grown used to.
"Let him explain" I stated firmly in calm tone as I held him back with a hand on his shoulder.
Aang nodded and I nodded towards the man to speak.
"Go ahead" I stated.
The man nodded,
"A long time ago-" the man began but paused to further explain, "but not one hundred years ago, my people became refugees after a terrible flood. My infant son, Teo, was badly hurt, and lost his mother. We needed somewhere to rebuild, and I stumbled across this place; couldn't believe it! Everywhere pictures of flying people, but empty, nobody home. But then I came across these fan-like contraptions-"
"-our gliders" Aang finished for him.
"Yes!" The man answered, "little light flying machines! They gave me an idea, build a new life for my son, in the air! Then everyone would be on equal ground- so to speak. We're just in the process of improving upon what's already here; and after all, isn't that what nature does?" The man finished.
I bit back my thoughts, I understood both sides. I understood Aang, this was sacred ground to his people, it should remain untouched and pure. But at the same time, this place was a safe place. It was abundantly clear how long it had been since the temple had been cared for by the people who had lived here previously, and had been overtaken by nature. The walls were coated with century old scorch marks, and chipping ancient paint. Cracks had made their home in the stone murals with plant roots to further wedge them apart.
It was a painful reminder to Aang of his people's fate. It was like building a home over an old graveyard.
"Nature knows when to stop" Aang stated coldly as he walked towards the man but stopped just before he was an arms length away.
The man glanced towards the sky,
"Unfortunately progress has a way of getting away from us" He stated as his gaze shifted to something I couldn't make out.
The man's attention shifted as he turned to the people who had followed behind him, it was an instant change,
"Come. The pulley must be oiled before dark" the man stated calmly as he looked to the object which I had yet to identify.
I reached my hand out to feel the object when I brought my hand near the middle one and sensed heat immediately pulling my hands away,
"What is that?" I asked Katara as I walked back.
"Wait. How can you tell time from that thing? The notches all look the same" Sokka asked in confusion and curiosity.
"Notches?" I asked in confusion.
Katara nodded,
"It's a candle" Katara stated.
"But how are they telling the time then?" I thought out loud.
"The candle will tell us, watch" The inventor stated.
"You put spark powder in the candle!" Sokka exclaimed.
I heard four seperate pops so-
"Four flashes. So it's exactly four hours past mid-day, or as I call it four o' candle."
I gave a nod at the thought, pretty smart. Not the joke though.
Sokka laughed at it, and I raised my eyebrows unimpressed at the joke.
"If you like that, wait til you see my finger safe knife sharpener. Only took me three tries to get it right!" The man stated proudly as he tossed what I at first thought was a covering for fingers into Sokka's hands.
Sokka gasped in horror, the initial shock grabbing him.
"Follow me" the inventor stated to Sokka, as if the interaction was normal.
"Hey, Aang, I want to show you something" Teo stated to the clearly contradicted Aang.
"I'm going to go with Sokka" I stated awkwardly and backed up, "it doesn't feel right walking around a creepy temple like this" I shivered.
"Asura stay with Aang" I ordered and walked away.
I didn't look back as I ran after Sokka and the inventor.
I couldn't be far behind them as I tripped on a rock and fell.
My face hit the grit covered ground and I felt blood flow from my palms and left cheek and forehead.
I couldn't breathe, it was like my world was black. My waterbending was out of my control as the air grew thick.
The heat hit my skin and the sore on my cheek and palms. I could feel the blood dripping as I went to the most hidden spot I could find. This sickening panic covered my stomach like painful growths.
My lungs wouldn't take air as I wheezed,
Oh spirits, oh spirits, I need to calm down, I need to breathe! Was this me dying? Oh spirits!
I couldn't breathe, my lungs wouldn't release air nor would they take in air.
My body felt hot and cold, like I was in the middle of both the icy south pole winter and the warmest dessert.
I was brought back to the day of the storm,
The ice beneath us shifted from the water. Cracks stemmed through the thick ice below our feet. Above us the clouds were dark like a black abyss. Lightning rained from the sky as the thunder boomed. Dad had us in his arms when the water hit our sealed ice ball.
It was our first hunting trip of the spring season and storms weren't uncommon. Dad, Sokka, and I had left to hunt for blubbered seals, and artic hen. That morning the sky had been clear, blue, and brisk as usual. The clouds that did float were small and unassuming to any bad weather. The sun beamed with the pale golden light of the early morning.
We were gathering our stuff. Me with my fur lined parka, thick woolen pants, seal skin boots and hand sewn hunting gloves as well as my oily black paint to see in the blinding white landscape and the last of the blubbered seal jerky.
Sokka had his classic hunting outfit made of polar wolf fur to disguise in the snow, and of course plenty of food.
Dad was mix of both of us, only he carried the old wooden sled, and seal fat which he would spread on himself before hunting to mask his smell.
I didn't like the texture but rubbed some in my hair and parka.
I spread the oil paint around my eyes with the steadiness of a two year old.
"I'm ready!" I called as I exited our tent.
I didn't expect to see the looming clouds as I looked up. The largest one in the shape of a fluffy bunny.
Dad took the clouds as a sign and took us back home immediately. We hadn't made it far when the storm began.
We were in the middle of the tundra when the storm started. The ice around us cracked and I began to waterbend without knowing. I put my hands over my head and a thick dome of semi transparent ice surrounded us like a frozen bubble. I could see the water below as the ice that had once been below our feet cracked and broke beneath the dome. The ocean was dark and deep below us as the storm caused us to be shaken around. Dad cried out in surprise as the bubble I surrounded us in fell through the thick ice completely. I looked into the dark water and was surprised to see a glowing iceberg deep below the surface. My attention shifted to my hands as they throbbed from keeping the dome from breaking
My hands hurt so bad now. When I thought I couldn't last much longer I felt my right pointer finger break from the pressure just as the storm faded.
The dome began to dissolve away as I released the pressure and we floated to the surface as the dome broke I noticed the camping area had been destroyed with nothing more than little broken shards of ice floating in the water being the remainder. Even the blue tent was gone. A huge hole in the ice was all that was left of our camping ground.
Sokka and dad didn't bring it up on the way home, I think Sokka's brain forced him to forget the trauma just as mine had until now. Sokka passed out not long after I made the dome, and dad closed his eyes and kept muttering prayers all the way home.
I pushed the memory away as far as I could. The blank space in my mind had been filled again, I wasn't sure if I wanted it to be filled.
I took a breath, grounding myself in the current reality. It was safe, I am safe.
I had to find Sokka though, I couldn't stand this quiet hissing.
I managed to catch up to the two as they descended down a passageway. Fortunately they were having just as much trouble as I was.
"These lanterns are terrible. I can't see" Sokka stated as he opened the lantern to investigate what was inside.
"Oh no, what a tragedy!" I stated dramatically.
Sokka rolled his eyes at my sarcasm as he noticed me,
"I shouldn't have said that" Sokka groaned.
I tripped on the stairs only to be caught by the wall,
"It's about as dry as your humor, Sokka" I joked.
Sokka snickered,
"You really should stop talking to yourself using other people's names" Sokka smiled.
I laughed at the burn, that one was good.
He cut the conversation with curiosity as he opened the top of the lantern.
"Why would you use fireflies for light?" He asked the inventor.
I tilted my head in recognition, so that's why I could see the laterns somewhat.
One got out and the inventor was quick to say something,
"Hey close that up. They'll get loose!" The inventor stated quickly as one escaped.
Sokka did as told and followed the inventor as he spoke. I took that as a chance to grab onto Sokka. I regretted my choice as I remembered my palms. I hissed in pain as Sokka turned the lantern at me.
"Lyra" He stated in concern when he saw my cheek.
I waved him off,
"I'm fine, why fireflies as a light source?" I asked, diverting the topic.
Sokka narrowed his eyes,
"Don't divert the topic" He stated protectively.
I blew a stubborn sigh,
"I fell, okay?"
Sokka nodded,
"I can help you clean it up" He offered softly.
I smiled,
"Sure" I nodded.
We continued to walk as Sokka asked the inventor the question again.
"Fireflies are a non-flammable light source" the inventor answered as we descended further down.
I tilted my head in confusion,
"Why do you need a non-flammable light source?"
"This will explain it" the inventor stated as we reached a door. He touched something, making sure it was secure.
"Cover your nose, and hold your breath" the man ordered.
I nodded, did as told and stepped back expecting the man to open the door instead the man opened a hole to look through an eyehole.
"OK. So you brought us all the way down here to see an empty room?" Sokka questioned in confusion.
"Hey, I don't see anything" I shrugged and laughed a little at my joke.
Sokka made a face at the joke and facepalmed a little making me chuckle.
The man laughed a bit as he closed the opening and stepped back,
"Wrong" the man stated to Sokka,
"Also, that was a bad joke" he informed me with a laugh.
"Anyways, as I was going to say, it's filled to the brim with natural gas. I came across it my first time here. Unfortunately, I was carrying a torch at the time. Nearly blew myself and this place even more sky high" the inventor explained.
I laughed a bit at the joke,
The man continued,
"I thought my eyebrows would never grow back. Anyway, there's a vital problem that needs solving. From time to time, we have gas leaks and they're nearly impossible to find" the man stated.
"So in this instance, fire is bad?" I stated simply.
"Very bad" Sokka agreed.
"An explosion waiting to happen" Sokka stated nervously.
The word 'explosion' caught my attention.
"So we need to find the leak a soon as possible" I stated simply.
"Yes, but that means finding something I can't see, smell, or touch" the inventor stated.
"Firebenders would be really bad" I thought out loud.
"Definitely" Sokka agreed,
"On the bright side, fireworks" I stated as I spaced out.
"Note to self: keep Lyra away from this, due to her morbid curiosity" Sokka stated as he lead me up the stairs.
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Soooo I hope guys liked it! Definitely my longest chapter yet, but I felt like writing. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a good day! Stay safe and healthy my Bookworms and until next time, I'll see y'all in the next one! Bye!
-Rose