~*~
TEN
I should've eaten dinner so I wouldn't be freezing like this. I could see my breath as I breathed out though my mouth. When I got in, I turned around to face Lisa.
"What are you doing here?" I scowled at her.
"I do whatever I want, Tenten." Lisa smirked at me.
"Don't call me that!" I cringed. "Who sent you here? Apollo sent you to spy on us?"
"I might be the Oracle, but that doesn't mean that he is my dad!" She glared at me.
I rolled my eyes and let myself fall to on top of the couch. "Yeah, whatever." I said. "It's just weird. I haven't seen you in... I don't know... ages."
"It got boring back at the camp." She said.
She must be talking about Camp Half-Blood.
"So I decided to visit my friends." She continued, keeping her head low.
"Well we got good news for you because you're going back to Camp Half-Blood, Oracle!" I said with a grin.
"Huh? Why?"
I stood up immediately, realizing something. I looked around and wasn't able to find it.
"Where the fuck is Juli??"
Lisa raised an eyebrow at me, "you mean the Prophecy Girl? She said she forgot something."
I facepalmed myself.
I stormed out of the house without hesitation. I didn't care if I closed the door a bit too loud and woke everyone in the house. I didn't even care if Lisa was going to follow me.
I left her out of my sight for one second, and that girl managed to disappear. What the fuck?
No, seriously. What the fuck.
If something happens to her, who do you think Yuta will blame?
Surely not his girl.
I mean what is up with everyone and this girl. Sure, she's the Avatar. I have to admit that's kinda hot. And she kicks butts. That's hot too. But for me any girl who can kick butts are hot.
I looked around the streets, and found her standing in the middle with her back against me. I approached her calmly.
I have to be careful. It might not be her.
"Juli?" I tried to call her, which she didn't respond.
I opened my waterskin as I approached her. Ready to strike if something seemed suspicious.
"Wait, is that Renjun?" Lisa whispered behind me.
"Her brother?" I asked as I made a better view at who she was talking to.
"Yeah. But I am pretty sure Renjun is asleep in the house. Everyone is."
"Why were you still up?"
"I was hungry." Lisa said.
We were getting closer, and Renjun looked like he was forcing Juli by pulling her to go with him.
"Are you sure Renjun is in the house?"
I looked behind my shoulder and Lisa nodded a yes.
I closed my waterskin and breathed in, then out.
I needed more water, so I extracted water from the grass and soil on people's front yard and made it go straight to the imposter.
The imposter dodged it and began to attack Juli. He hissed, and seemed like he wanted to bite her. Which was weird as hell. Totally not Renjun the human kid.
Her moves reminded me of Jaehyun's so much. She managed to give him a few strikes with her blue fire and tackled the kid down to the ground. Got on top of him and was ready to burn him with the fire torch coming off of her right fist.
Okay. Forgot that she is now able to do that now. Damn. I wanted to cry and hug her and tell her how proud I am but we have to interrogate the imposter I guess.
Lisa and I ran to them.
"Flying hog monkeys, Your Highness," I began. "The fuck were you thinking??? What part of we have to keep our eyes on each other at all time you don't understand??"
"I was trying to get something out of him but you ruined it!" She said.
I gasped in shock. "Oh I'm sorry, Princess—"
Lisa put her hand on my chest telling me to shut up, and she approached Juli.
She bent down, "the girls told me that they had weird encounters with each other, did he ask you to leave the city?"
Juli nodded a yes.
Lisa motioned for Juli to finish her job and she did. The kid disappeared, leaving a scorch mar shaped like his body on the asphalt concrete.
~
We got back to the girls' house.
I just wanted to get this over with. I didn't sign up for any of this. I went to the kitchen, grabbed a frying pan and a wooden spoon. Went back to the common room near the stairs and began the music.
"WAKE UP LADIES!" I screamed as I hit the pan with the wooden spoon. "And Renjun. WAKE UP PLEASEEEE HELLLOOO"
I kept my rhythm but no one was coming down.
"Ten, the whole neighborhood is going to hear you." Lisa hissed.
"RISE AND SHINEE." I continued to sing. "HELLO BLACK VELVET COME DOWN PLEA— Oof."
I felt something hit my stomach that made me fall down on my butt. I grabbed the object— a slipper— and looked up the staircase to find none other than Rosé looking like she was ready to stab me.
"I'm gonna kill you, you snow peasant!!" Rosé exclaimed.
"Ma'am I own a three-storey icy mansion how am I a peasant." I said.
Rosé gritted her teeth in anger and was about to launch at me. I cowered away.
Thanks to Jennie, who came to my rescue, I was not dead that night.
"What do you want, Ten?" Jennie bored her sleepy eyes at me.
The rest of the girls went down and crashed on the couch. Renjun and Juli went to the kitchen together. Leaving me to explain everything to angry powerful women, whose beauty sleeps I just disturbed, who can murder me in—who knows how many ways.
I gulped as I stood in front of the all.
Finally, I explained as brief and as best as I could. About the attack that we have planned against the witch.
"When are we leaving?" Jisoo asked.
I was glad. That was easy. "Thought you'd never ask!"
~
JULI
When we got to the bending world, Renjun and I will be separated once again. They will be safe in Ba Sing Se while the guys and I travel to help me learn the other three elements.
"No, we have to go to my city in the Northern Water Tribe, it's the safest city—"
"No. The Avatar needs to learn the elements in order." Jisoo said. "That is why she hasn't shown any progress yet with the other elements because you guys are training her all four elements at the same time!"
While waiting for the guys to pack their stuff, Jisoo, Seulgi, Ten, Yuta and I were discussing on where we should head first in the dinning table.
"Jisoo's right. Then Juli needs to learn air first. Then water, and finally earth." Seulgi agreed as she smiled at me.
"It's settled then. Southern Air Temple it is. You girls and Renjun can fly with the sky bisons to the Northern Water Tribe. Remember to stay low." Yuta stood up and we all followed his gestures.
Then we made out way to the natural portal.
~
We cannot bring too much attention to ourselves. We couldn't let the witch know we are back to the bending world. That is if Hendery's curse is really gone, then we just hope the witch won't be able to track us.
We finally got to the Southern Air Temple.
I hugged every one of the girls, even Lisa. I was surprised that they just agreed to come with us without hesitation.
When I hugged Jennie, I didn't want to let go. I felt warmed up despite Jennie's cold skin and the cold night breeze.
I still couldn't believe that they were all here with me. It wasn't even their fight. Except for Seulgi who was from the Fire Nation, and maybe Jisoo from the Water Tribe, the rest of the girls had literally no business at being here.
"It's not too late." I said next to her ear. "Please say that you're just here to cheer me up. Please say that you are not going to fight with us."
Jennie pushed me away gently and looked at me in the eye. "There is no going back now."
"You still can walk away from this. I never asked any of you to come here." I pleaded.
"And what? Do nothing? You and Seulgi are like family now. We want to do this." Jennie said.
Wendy, Rosé, Seulgi, Jisoo and Irene joined our hug.
"Awww I love you guyss." Rosé squeled as she tightened the hug.
They shouldn't even be saying this. I alone should've been enough to fight the witch. None of them should be risking themselves for my own fight.
As the girls were getting on a flying bison, I stopped Renjun from joining them.
"Hey," I said as I grabbed his wrist.
He stopped as rolled his eyes, "I know: be safe. Be smart. And stay out of trouble." He tried to predict what I was going to say.
"No, silly." I said as I pulled him into my arms. "I just wanted to do this before you go." I said next to his ear.
I'd known him since I could even remember. I used to be so much taller than him until I stopped growing and he surpassed my height. Both him and Jaemin.
Renjun pushed me away and took a step back. "Save it for later." He smirked. "For when you're the Fire Lord."
My mouth started to tremble. Fear started to build up in my stomach.
"You have to." He said. "I will see you then."
I was supposed to say something against it. But I couldn't. If I did I might be bursting into tears again, and I was tired of it.
So I just smiled at him. Watching him climbed up the flying bison to join the rest of the girls.
"Until then, Avatar." Seulgi said in a dramatic voice, which made me chuckle a bit.
"Good luck with your training!" Wendy waved her hand.
I stood there as the sky bison took off. They were still waving their hands as they became further, and smaller, until I could only see their silhouette under the moonlight.
I could heard footsteps coming closer to me. I was still looking at the sky. I didn't bother to look back. Since we were at the Southern Air Temple, we were basically above the clouds. My hands seemed to be glued to the concrete railing.
"You'll catch a cold."
I immediately recognized his warm voice.
"Mark made us Jasmine tea. Let's go, before it turns cold." He said.
My fists curled against the railing before finally lifting them and turning around to follow Yuta.
~
I wasn't expecting a five-star hotel bed, but Air Nomad beds felt like as if you were sleeping on a warm floor. Yet when you wake up, you feel so light and surprisingly my body wasn't hurting anywhere like I was expecting it to be.
If it wasn't for the therapeutic bed, I wouldn't be able to get a sleep. Even if it was just for a few hours, it was longer than any sleep I've had for days.
I had been sitting on the rounded concrete table at my room's mini balcony for probably an hour. Watching the sunrise.
I get why Yuta loved this place so much. Living in the sky.
For as long as I was sitting there, I tried to not think about anything else. I just wanted to focus on now, and the beautiful view.
I was there long enough to witness a bunch of kids with orange uniforms, Air Nomads, to begin what seemed like their training, or some kind of lesson below my balcony. The courtyard was now filled with a few of them stretching.
When I noticed a familiar purple hair coming into my view, he immediately looked up to where I was sitting.
Yuta waved at me and gestured his arm for me to meet him there.
I wasted to time and went down to meet him.
"Isn't it to early to start now?" I smiled as I approached him who was watching the Air Nomads training.
"Who says we're going to train right now? I was just going to ask if you wanted to join me and Mark to have breakfast in the nearest Earth Kingdom village."
I didn't see any problem with that, or did I have any reason to not join them.
~
We flew with Sora, Yuta's flying bison, and the trip wasn't as long as I expected it to be. I got to touch the clouds as we slowly went down to sea level. Once we arrived at a place that looked like a very small pier, we got off Sora. I patted her giant fluffy head and she let out a low growl.
I wanted a sky bison for myself.
Mark led us the way to this small restaurant near the pier, and we sat on the table with a view of the sea.
I sat next to Yuta while Mark was facing us both.
Mark's eye bags were visible and his eyes were very droopy. He didn't look... well. I'd never seen him like that.
"You didn't look like you had a good sleep," Yuta said as he took a sip of his tea. "Did you even sleep?"
"It was Ten." Mark scowled. "Hyung got me into exploring the temple all night to ghost hunt."
I snickered and I received a glare from him. "Why did you do it?"
"He told me the place was haunted and I was too scared to sleep then. So I chose to join him then to be alone in my room." He blew his fringe and took a sip of his tea.
"Well you should've just told me so you could sleep in. I could just go here with Juli." Yuta shrugged.
Coming here with Yuta? Having breakfast with him? Just the two of us? Here? Having breakfast at a pier?
"Yeah but I want to help cheer up Juli too," Mark looked up and met Yuta's eyes. "I—" his eyes widened immediately. Like he just realized something.
"Anyways, are you excited for today?" Yuta quickly changed the subject.
The conversation continued as we were waiting for our food. More and more people occupied the empty tables around us. And the conversation of the table behind me and Yuta, was a bit too loud. At first it sounded like three guys was just discussing about the Fire Nation, until they started to bring me up.
"Do you think the Avatar is really back?"
"Yeah, I heard that she was
in Ba Sing Se a few days ago."
"Really? The blue fire girl?
Are we going to assume
that every female firebender
is the Avatar now?"
"Yeah, you're right. We don't even
know if she's still alive.
A new Avatar might be somewhere
now, reborn as an Air Nomad."
"Even if she's still alive. We don't
need her. She has left us
with years of suffering—"
"Yeah."
"—and we have fended for
ourselves for fifteen years. I don't
think we need an Avatar anymore.
She is a coward who ran
away from her duties."
"The Fire Nation is always a trouble.
The Air Nomad genocide, the Hundred
Year War, and then even caused the destruction of their own nation."
"Almost wiped out their
own people in the process too."
"And that, my friends, is Karma."
Then they laughed altogether with tossing their cups.
I didn't know how to react. I felt like Yuta and Mark didn't know what to say either because we all heard what they'd said.
"Juli, I swear, if we didn't have to stay low I would let my fists do the job for you." Mark said.
I still couldn't say anything. Some of their words kept playing in my head over and over again.
She has left us with years of suffering.
She is a coward who ran away from her duties.
Fire Nation. Air Nomad genocide—Destruction of their own nation—almost wiped out their own people—Karma.
"Juli," Yuta called me gently, snapping me out of my head. He held my hand which was on top of my thigh below the table.
"Let's get the food to go." I said.
"Alright." Yuta agreed.
~*~
A/N:
This has been a long chapter.
I promise this book will end sooonnnnn.
BTW I have mixed feelings about this year's Carat Land. Am happy that I will finally experience it. I am sad because my first ever svt concert/fanmeet is going to be ONLINE.
AND I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT GOSE EPISODE. AAAAAAA
Anywaysss this has been one long boring chapter, a filler I guess. Idk.
But I wanted to show how the bending world feels about the Avatar and the Fire Nation.
So there will be more of that in the coming chapters. Also trainings and traveling.
Alsooooo Hendery, Yuta, Jaehyun,,,
Maybe even Yangyang??
Taeyong. Maybe. 🤡
Sooo I guess there will be 5 or more chapters left of this book. Might be less.
CHEERS!! 💕