Post by Teяa253 on Mar 31, 2008 2:22:40 GMT 1
and where there's a (I), there's always a (II)...
THE WATER TRIBE CHIEF (II)
Katara and I went back into Katara’s chamber, where she sat as the chief of the Water Tribes. I looked behind us to see my mother following us quietly like she always did. Katara had recovered from her small breakdown, but I could tell that the topic upset her. I turned around and motioned to my mother that it was time to bring up the second reason we had come here—to find a blade master to teach me.
“Katara,” said my mother’s voice from behind us. Katara turned around slowly, wiping her face with her hair. She did pretty well at hiding evidence that she had been crying. Her hair was messy enough that you couldn’t tell what she had just done.
“Katara,” my mother said again, “is something wrong?”
Katara stammered for a moment, and then broke down again.
“YES,” she wailed, and then embraced us both. She told my mother everything. My mother was very understanding. I could tell that it grieved her that she couldn’t reveal to Katara that I was the avatar and that I was supposed to bring Tera to her knees.
“I understand,” Kai I said quietly, “and if it pleases you, then we will do what we can to avenge Zuko.
I slowly stopped bawling. It was a very sensitive subject for me, considering that it had only happened a few years ago. I realized that had these two been there, they could have revived him. Normally, something like that was enough to get some people flying with rage; However, I could not get mad at these two. They had done so much for me, even Kai II. Additionally, their work was voluntary. It wasn’t like they had a duty that they had failed to follow.
“Of course,” said Kai II all of a sudden, “maybe in the meantime there is something we can do about that hair of yours.”
This joke seemed to amuse even Kai I. It was repetitive, but it still made me laugh. I slowly began chuckling again.
“You two are never going to let me go about that, are you?” I said,
“Nope,” Kai II replied, “probably not.”
“I appreciate the small things in life,” said Kai I, “to be perfectly honest, I am only as concerned about your hair as you are. I think it’s beautiful no matter what you do with it.”
Katara shrugged. “You were going to ask me something weren’t you?” she commented, and Kai II had a response.
“My mother said you knew a master swordsman here who could teach me... to use these.” I whipped out the dual katana my mother gave me, and Katara said they way I drew them was impressive.
“Ah yes,” she replied, “I know just the man. In fact, I’ve known him for 33 years. I am talking of course, about my brother.”
“Is he around?” I asked,
“Indeed he is,” Katara replied,
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen that kid,” Kai I commented, “I would like to visit him again as well.”
“Can he do something about your hair?” I asked,
“Yeah,” Katara replied to my surprise, “being the swordmaster he is, he could cut it. That would end the problem.”
“Could a blade even cut through that?” I asked, running my fingers through Katara’s hair; her hair was soft, but so tangled that I barely moved an inch before my fingers were caught. I gave up.
“Come to think of it,” said Katara, “I seriously have doubts. My only question now is why do you keep bringing it up?”
“Apparently my daughter has taken on a higher sense of humor than I have,” my mother responded, “There is nothing wrong with good humor though, am I correct?”
“Indeed,” Katara replied, “and I suppose if she can keep coming up with different jokes about the same thing, it’s not that bad.”
“But is it at your expense?” I asked, concerned now for Katara’s feelings,
“If it were at my expense,” Katara replied, “then I wouldn’t laugh with you. “The funny part about your jokes is that they’re all true. I’m not afraid to laugh at the truth, you know. The stories I could tell you about the things I’ve done to this disaster you two are still willing to call my hair could fill a library—maybe two.”
My mother actually laughed at this one—a serious laugh. That was something else I loved my mother for. She would never insult anyone. She would not laugh at the truth if the truth was at the expense of someone else. Only if she knew it wouldn’t hurt their feelings
My mother actually laughed at this one—a serious laugh. That was something else I loved my mother for. She would never insult anyone. She would not laugh at the truth if the truth was at the expense of someone else. Only if she knew it wouldn’t hurt their feelings would she laugh about it. I noticed that Katara didn’t seem to care, and my mother obviously had as well.
“Well,” Katara commented, “it looks like we’ve strayed pretty far off-topic. I suppose you would like me to take you two to se my brother, or would you like to explore the village until you find him?”
Katara knew my daughter and I well. Both of us were fond of adventure and exploration, and she had just given us an opportunity.
“Well,” I said, “if it does not offend you, do you think we could have a look around?”
“Kai,” said Katara, shaking her head, “you could do with valuing your own opinion a little more than you do,”
I had no response for this. Katara continued.
“Kai,” she said, “If it offended me, I would not have asked you about it. Go ahead and explore the village. Tell your daughter that I’m going to go have a fight with my hair and things are not going to be pretty.”
Katara laughed at her own joke. Kai II had heard it, and she laughed along with it.
“In that case,” I said, “then we will have a look around until we find him. Farewell, Katara. I... I wish you luck against your hair.”
We parted ways. Katara returned to her main chamber, and we returned to the central village square. From here, we wandered through the elaborate village of ice and water, waving and saying hello to people who called out to us.
I was excited. I was about to be taught the ways of the blades. I followed my mother around, for she said she had an idea of where my teacher would be. I examined the vial of spirit water Katara had given me. It was brass in color and was engraved with the symbol of the water tribes: a circle with a crescent on the left side resembling the moon; on the right side where a smaller circle was formed were a set of waves representing the water and the tides. Katara had not told my mother, but she whispered to me that if nothing else, spirit water was fun just to take out and play with, if it was used by a true master. Again, although I did not want to brag, Katara had called me a waterbending master so many times that I had no choice but to call myself a master as well. Of course, this meant my mother was beyond a master, but I had told her that countless times. I casually took the water out of the vial and began twirling it around my fingers. It almost felt like a stretchy material, but that was only because of the way I was able to bend it and shape it. To me, it felt just like water, but it felt better than normal water. I was grateful to Katara for giving it to me, for I would be sure to put it to good use.
We continued wandering through the village, though we were taking our time to get there (on purpose). For some reason, I felt we were being followed. I asked my mother about it, and she said that she felt it too. We hiked up our guard and continued walking until we heard a footstep behind us. We had been in a completely silent part of the village, but now we knew—after hearing the footstep and sensing an almost silent breath that was neither mine nor my mother’s—that there was someone right behind us.
~Kai~
THE WATER TRIBE CHIEF (II)
Katara and I went back into Katara’s chamber, where she sat as the chief of the Water Tribes. I looked behind us to see my mother following us quietly like she always did. Katara had recovered from her small breakdown, but I could tell that the topic upset her. I turned around and motioned to my mother that it was time to bring up the second reason we had come here—to find a blade master to teach me.
“Katara,” said my mother’s voice from behind us. Katara turned around slowly, wiping her face with her hair. She did pretty well at hiding evidence that she had been crying. Her hair was messy enough that you couldn’t tell what she had just done.
“Katara,” my mother said again, “is something wrong?”
Katara stammered for a moment, and then broke down again.
“YES,” she wailed, and then embraced us both. She told my mother everything. My mother was very understanding. I could tell that it grieved her that she couldn’t reveal to Katara that I was the avatar and that I was supposed to bring Tera to her knees.
“I understand,” Kai I said quietly, “and if it pleases you, then we will do what we can to avenge Zuko.
I slowly stopped bawling. It was a very sensitive subject for me, considering that it had only happened a few years ago. I realized that had these two been there, they could have revived him. Normally, something like that was enough to get some people flying with rage; However, I could not get mad at these two. They had done so much for me, even Kai II. Additionally, their work was voluntary. It wasn’t like they had a duty that they had failed to follow.
“Of course,” said Kai II all of a sudden, “maybe in the meantime there is something we can do about that hair of yours.”
This joke seemed to amuse even Kai I. It was repetitive, but it still made me laugh. I slowly began chuckling again.
“You two are never going to let me go about that, are you?” I said,
“Nope,” Kai II replied, “probably not.”
“I appreciate the small things in life,” said Kai I, “to be perfectly honest, I am only as concerned about your hair as you are. I think it’s beautiful no matter what you do with it.”
Katara shrugged. “You were going to ask me something weren’t you?” she commented, and Kai II had a response.
“My mother said you knew a master swordsman here who could teach me... to use these.” I whipped out the dual katana my mother gave me, and Katara said they way I drew them was impressive.
“Ah yes,” she replied, “I know just the man. In fact, I’ve known him for 33 years. I am talking of course, about my brother.”
“Is he around?” I asked,
“Indeed he is,” Katara replied,
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen that kid,” Kai I commented, “I would like to visit him again as well.”
“Can he do something about your hair?” I asked,
“Yeah,” Katara replied to my surprise, “being the swordmaster he is, he could cut it. That would end the problem.”
“Could a blade even cut through that?” I asked, running my fingers through Katara’s hair; her hair was soft, but so tangled that I barely moved an inch before my fingers were caught. I gave up.
“Come to think of it,” said Katara, “I seriously have doubts. My only question now is why do you keep bringing it up?”
“Apparently my daughter has taken on a higher sense of humor than I have,” my mother responded, “There is nothing wrong with good humor though, am I correct?”
“Indeed,” Katara replied, “and I suppose if she can keep coming up with different jokes about the same thing, it’s not that bad.”
“But is it at your expense?” I asked, concerned now for Katara’s feelings,
“If it were at my expense,” Katara replied, “then I wouldn’t laugh with you. “The funny part about your jokes is that they’re all true. I’m not afraid to laugh at the truth, you know. The stories I could tell you about the things I’ve done to this disaster you two are still willing to call my hair could fill a library—maybe two.”
My mother actually laughed at this one—a serious laugh. That was something else I loved my mother for. She would never insult anyone. She would not laugh at the truth if the truth was at the expense of someone else. Only if she knew it wouldn’t hurt their feelings
My mother actually laughed at this one—a serious laugh. That was something else I loved my mother for. She would never insult anyone. She would not laugh at the truth if the truth was at the expense of someone else. Only if she knew it wouldn’t hurt their feelings would she laugh about it. I noticed that Katara didn’t seem to care, and my mother obviously had as well.
“Well,” Katara commented, “it looks like we’ve strayed pretty far off-topic. I suppose you would like me to take you two to se my brother, or would you like to explore the village until you find him?”
Katara knew my daughter and I well. Both of us were fond of adventure and exploration, and she had just given us an opportunity.
“Well,” I said, “if it does not offend you, do you think we could have a look around?”
“Kai,” said Katara, shaking her head, “you could do with valuing your own opinion a little more than you do,”
I had no response for this. Katara continued.
“Kai,” she said, “If it offended me, I would not have asked you about it. Go ahead and explore the village. Tell your daughter that I’m going to go have a fight with my hair and things are not going to be pretty.”
Katara laughed at her own joke. Kai II had heard it, and she laughed along with it.
“In that case,” I said, “then we will have a look around until we find him. Farewell, Katara. I... I wish you luck against your hair.”
We parted ways. Katara returned to her main chamber, and we returned to the central village square. From here, we wandered through the elaborate village of ice and water, waving and saying hello to people who called out to us.
I was excited. I was about to be taught the ways of the blades. I followed my mother around, for she said she had an idea of where my teacher would be. I examined the vial of spirit water Katara had given me. It was brass in color and was engraved with the symbol of the water tribes: a circle with a crescent on the left side resembling the moon; on the right side where a smaller circle was formed were a set of waves representing the water and the tides. Katara had not told my mother, but she whispered to me that if nothing else, spirit water was fun just to take out and play with, if it was used by a true master. Again, although I did not want to brag, Katara had called me a waterbending master so many times that I had no choice but to call myself a master as well. Of course, this meant my mother was beyond a master, but I had told her that countless times. I casually took the water out of the vial and began twirling it around my fingers. It almost felt like a stretchy material, but that was only because of the way I was able to bend it and shape it. To me, it felt just like water, but it felt better than normal water. I was grateful to Katara for giving it to me, for I would be sure to put it to good use.
We continued wandering through the village, though we were taking our time to get there (on purpose). For some reason, I felt we were being followed. I asked my mother about it, and she said that she felt it too. We hiked up our guard and continued walking until we heard a footstep behind us. We had been in a completely silent part of the village, but now we knew—after hearing the footstep and sensing an almost silent breath that was neither mine nor my mother’s—that there was someone right behind us.
~Kai~
