I'm not sure how long I wondered around. Perhaps 30 minutes. I had decided as soon as I got out of the building, I was going straight to the bridge with the water symbol.
Unfortunately, the streets were kind of crowded, and I had no idea where I was. And it's a horrible idea just to stand out in the streets. I got knocked into a cabbage merchant's cart, who screamed, "MY CABBAGES!!" after they got knocked to the ground, before I realized I should move.
I wondered around, asking people where the bridge with the water symbol was. The first person I asked just shrugged and walked away. The second told me there 3 bridges that has that symbol on. The third person was blind and didn't know what I was talking about.
I was wondering around a less crowded street when I heard someone call out, "Oi! Luna!" I turned and saw Khanu running down the street. He wrapped me in a bear hug once he got to me. I staggered back in surprise.
He finally let go, but kept his hands on my shoulders. "I thought you'd been kidnapped or something, Luna!" I press my eyebrows together.
"Why would you think that?" I ask. He smirks.
"You think your voice doesn't carry? I know about the tension, Luna." I blush. I hadn't thought I was talking that loudly. "Anyway, we need to hurry up or else Katara is going to be really mad if we're late."
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"There you two are!" exclaimed Katara as we set foot onto the bridge. Next to her was the man I'd seen barge into the starage room. It was the Chief's son. Katara put a hand on his shoulder.
"Guys, I want you to meet Zura. Zura, this is Khanu and Luna." We bowed to each other. I was careful not to meet Zura's eye.
"Come," he said. "We must go before my father and aunt become anxious." He stepped off the bridge and into the crowds, leaving us to follow him. I frowned. Didn't Katara just go to meet with them? With a shrug, I follow.
It was easier to get through by following Zura. The crowds (magically) part, making sure he has enough room. I could see their faces. They were full of grudging respect.
We stopped in front of one of the bigger buildings. Zura had barely knocked when the door swung open.
"Prince Zura!" a man's squeaky voice says. The man was defiantly below 5'6" (5 and a half feet), had long hair pulled into fishtails going down his chest, and deeply majestic blue eyes. The man bowed deeply to Zura, then to each of the rest of us.
"Take these people in," Zura said to him, "show them their rooms, and alert them when supper will be served, which is in about 2 hours." The man nodded and bowed again. Zura walked away without saying what he was doing.
The man motioned for us to come in. He led us down a hallway, stopping about in the center. He pointed to the room to our right. "For you, ma'am." It was a couple moments before Katara realized he meant her. Blushing, she stepped inside. Pointing across the hall, the man says, "For you, sir." Khanu nodded, but didn't move. The man shrugs and finally points to the one to the left if Katara's, saying, "And for you, miss."
I step inside and marvel at how amazing it looks. There are paintings on the walls, a big window, and many chests and drawers, including a walk-in closet. The bed sheets are made of satin, with lots of throw pillows. As I take in everything, Khanu plops on my bed, puts his hands behind his head, and sighs.
"Do you mind me sleeping here?" he asks. "Yours is better than mine." I roll my eyes.
"You haven't even looked at your bed," I say as I pull open a drawer to find blue night clothes inside. "Plus, where am I going to sleep?"
"Oh, yeah." I rifle through some more drawers. There are some extra undergarments, hair necessities, and pelts. I walk over to walk-in closet. They're are shoes in racks, 2 bathrobes (one white, one blue, both with floral patterns), pants, shirts, whole outfits, and some kimonos. And they were in all sorts of colors.
I was itching to try one on. Pointing to the door, I say to Khanu, "Out." He raises his eyebrows.
"Oh, I don't care if you change in front of me. My cousin does it all the time." My face turns fire red.
"Well I do, so out!" he raises his arms lazily in mock surrender, and walks out the door. I close it behind him, lock it, and look through the crack just for good measure. Yup, he's waiting outside the door. I shake my head, knowing there was nothing I could do.
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I was sitting on the balcony at the end of the hallway drinking green tea, relaxing in the sun when I heard the sounds of a scuffle. The balcony faced a beautiful lake of which we could swim in in the summer. But that also gave me a perfect view of the fight.
At first, I thought that they were fighting a really tall, really skinny guy dressed in black. As I watched longer, I realized it was an eel hound on its hind legs. The animal looked scared, not viscous. I had to do something.
Hopping over the fence, I debated whether it not I should try what I had been trying to do on the way here: waterbending with my mind. It couldn't be all that different from waterbending. I'd managed to do it once, but with a measly amount of water.
"HEY!" I yell to the boys surrounding the eel hound. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!!" The boys took one look at me and laughed. I then remembered that I was still in the purple kimono I'd picked out. Shoot.
"Aw, is the little girl gonna do a little bending trick?" one of them cooed. I gathered some water from the lake, and doused the boys with it.
"I said LEAVE. HIM. ALONE!!" Now, I thought. You need to scare them away. I concentrated hard and pulled at the water in the lake with my brain. Straining with all my might, I managed to get about a kickball size blob of water out of the lake.
The boys immediately stopped laughing, and stared at me in horror. I managed a small smug expression before I let the water fall on them. That's when they decided to run. I bent pellets with my hands at them, but with their backs turned, they wouldn't know the difference.
"Yeah! Run away, cowards! And don't come back!" I turned towards the eel hound and saw that it was cut deeply in several places. Unfortunately, I didn't know the art of healing. But if I didn't do something right now, the eel hound wouldn't make it 10 more minutes. I stepped up to it, my arms held out in front of me.
The hound squealed and tried to move away from me. "Don't worry," I whispered. "I'm not going to hurt you." I whispered several more soothing words to help calm him down. He finally slowly lowered his head.
I racked my brains, trying to think of something that might help. I thought back to all the remedies my mom had told me about. Dry soap for mosquito bites, minced aloe for burns....
I suddenly remember my mom's remedy for cuts. Mud and rich soil have lots of antioxidants. But that was for minor cuts. Maybe if I mixed them together....
I quickly plunge my hand into the icy water, and dig around for the squishy feeling if mud. Feeling it, I seize it, slopping water on myself is I thrust out. I lay it on the ground and dig underneath the part of the lawn that wasn't covered in snow. Finding the soil below, I scoop it out, and hear the eel hound moan.
I squish the soil and mud together, mixing as best I can. Once I feel it's thoroughly mixed, I hurry over to slather it on the eel hound's cuts. At first, nothing happened. Then the eel hound begins writher in pain. I knew why. It always burns when it heals.
After a few moments, the eel hound stops writhing and just sits there, breathing. I inch closer to the hound, and slowly began to stroke his silky skin. His eyes look at me with curiosity. I smile reassuringly. He moves his head towards me, and nuzzles me.
I scratch behind his ears. "Why would those boys want to hurt you?" I ask the hound. It just looked at me with big brown eyes. "You're so sweet. I don't think you could hurt a flea." The eel hound laid its head down in my lap.
"You need a name," I say while scratching his neck. "How about.... Zenith?" The eel hound lifted his head when I said it. I took that as a 'yes-that-will-be-my-name'.
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Hey guys!! Sorry about not updating for a while. Statewide testing is this well so I've been trying to sleep. Plus, weekends are also crazy! Feel free to comment any suggestions about things you want to see or happen. Or point out my mistakes! This helps me tremendously! Thanks!
Ciao!-Lauren