Post by Orophin on Sept 9, 2008 15:19:54 GMT 1
The Cold Truth
Seven months. Seven long months since his parents had died. Vic had finally decided he would require some training if he was going to fight Benders, especially as normal people cannot usually compare. That was why he was shivering out of cold and fear.
He was on a small boat headed for the Northern Water Tribe, where he hoped to learn about Waterbending, so he could find it's weaknesses, and use them.
"We'll be there soon, don't worry." said the captain, noticing Vic's obvious seasickness and fear. V'icternus, never having learned to swim, was terrified of the ocean.
"Good..."
"Ah, there it is! The North Pole." the captain exclaimed.
V'icternus looked up, and saw a wall, a massive wall made of ice. It lowered as they entered the city, and he saw the teams of Waterbenders manipulating them.
"Yep, I'm gonna find what I want here..."
After docking, Vic spent over fifteen minutes composing himself. Then, he began looking around.
He was nervous about the entire city being made of ice, and the many rivers were no comfort at all. The large amount of Waterbenders he noticed only served to put him on edge.
V'icternus decided to get the hardest part over with... finding a master to teach him. He would have to be able to teach Waterbending, without his student being able to Waterbend... this might take some explaining.
He decided to check out the local Waterbending school. He knew that would be the best place to find a good teacher. Hopefully they would be willing to teach him...
"Absolutely not. I refuse to teach a non-Waterbender how to Waterbend. Now stop wasting my time."
Vic moved aggressively toward the Master, but then he heard a voice from the class.
"Uh, I could teach him, Master..."
He turned to see a girl, about his age, addressing the Master.
"Hume, you're only a student yourself." The Master replied.
"Yeah, the best one you have! And, he only wants to know the basics... I can teach him that."
"If you think you are ready..."
"Hey, I was born ready." boasted Hume.
The Master turned to Vic. "Very well... you shall be taught by Hume. Keep in mind that this means she is your Master. Disobey her, and you'll answer to her master."
"Fine... when can we start?" Vic asked her.
"How about first I get an idea of your abilities... meet me in the training field tomorrow morning, early."
"O.K., then..."
That night, Vic stayed at a local inn. He was, once again, uncomfortable with the entire structure being ice-made, but eventually, he managed to get to sleep.
Waking up early, as he normally did, he made his way to the training field near the school.
As he entered, he saw Hume already waiting for him. Her white hair seemed to shine in the fading moonlight.
"You ready?"
"Uh, ready for what?" He questioned.
She summoned up two massive funnels of water.
"For your beating."
She sent one of them twirling at him.
He instinctively rolled under it, and kept rolling until he knocked her off her feet.
She sat up, slightly dazed. "Hey! You're not allowed to... you're not supposed to..."
"Well, maybe you need to practice more..."
Hume got to her feet.
"Practice!?"
She made two long, thin blades out of ice.
"I'll show you practice!" She lunged at him.
He drew his sword and they started fighting.
"I... thought... you... were... teaching... me... Waterbending!" He said, still parrying and slashing with his own blade.
"You... can't... even... Bend!" As she said this, she spun around and combined the two blades into one long Katana made of ice.
She thought for a moment. "Well, for your first lesson, I think we'll work on movement... watch how I move." She attacked him, sweeping her in slow, wide arcs. "Just like in Waterbending, you have to move with the blade, not force the blade to go where you want it to. Now, you try."
Vic began moving his blade in the same way. The exact same way.
"C'mon, you need some feeling!" Hume said eagerly, "Technique in Bending will get you the points, but the originality, the flare is what gives you the win!"
"Well, O.K..." Vic began moving faster, ducking lower, but still keeping the flow of his motions going.
"Well, that's... O.K, I guess..." Accepted Hume, looking slightly impressed. "But, now you need to learn lesson two... balance! " She sent him sprawling with a small twist of her hand, tilting the ice he was standing on.
"A Waterbender needs balance. Despite doing all our Bending with our hands, our feet need to bend and move with our environment as well." She demonstrated by riding an ice-slide that she formed under herself, twisting to almost ninety degree angles, yet never falling or stopping her Bending.
"Now, I want you..." She lifted a small, thin pillar out of the ice, "To stand on that, and don't fall off. I'm going to try and knock you over. Don't fall."
She began by shooting ice spikes at him, which he deflected or smashed with his sword, while he still managed to maintain his balance. He almost fell several times, but always managed to get his balance back before the next attack.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this..."
At this, Hume lifted up a large wave and sent it at him, knocking him off the pole.
"What was that for!?" Vic shouted at her.
"You were getting too confident... had to show you how easy it was to lose your balance if you don't focus. Anyway, we're done for today... I've got to get ready for class anyway. Tomorrow, same time, same place."
"Fine..."
For the rest of the day, Vic spent his time training, and thinking about the lesson itself.
When he arrived the next morning...
"Think fast!"
Hume had wasted no time in testing his reflexes, and when he showed they were up to standard by catching the ice-ball she had thrown, she started showing him some basic Waterbending moves.
"Well, you seem to be getting the hang of blocking my most simple, easy, basic attacks, I guess..." said Hume reluctantly. "But can you handle something a little more advanced?"
She summoned up some water, and spun it around her, gathering more and more, forcing V'icternus to back up to avoid getting hit by the fast moving water.
Then, he rolled under the swirling circle of water, and jumped up so he was stand right in front of Hume, sword drawn.
She hid her surprise by melting the ice he was standing on, and sinking him into a chest-deep puddle, before re-freezing the ice, and standing over him, smirking.
"Had enough?" She half-taunted.
"Hey! Let me out of here!" Vic yelled, struggling to break free.
"Fine... " She re-melted the ice, and he climbed out of the puddle.
Several weeks of this kind of training later, and V'icternus was still being constantly tested by Hume, who seemed to dislike it when he exceeded her expectations, and would take any opportunity to make him uncomfortable, such as freezing him, near-drowning him, and knocking him off his feet.
"Well, you've improved since you first started, I guess... and, uh, I suppose I should congratulate you... tell you what, tonight, you can have dinner at my place. It's the third one built into the West wall..."
"... Fine, I'll be there..."
"You can meet my brother..."
So, that night, Vic arrived at Hume's house. His first impression was that it was a cave. The door was built into the wall of ice that made up the west wall of the city. V'icternus knocked on the circular, slightly shabby looking wooden door.
Hume opened the door. "Took you long enough..."
"I thought I was right on time...'
"Well... whatever, just get in here." She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.
It was a small house, with what looked like a dining area, an area for preparing food, two bedrooms, and one room with a curtain over the door, which Vic assumed was the bathroom.
"Sorry, my brother wont be here tonight... he's doing a little extra work, you know..."
"That's fine..."
They sat down at the table, a large fish on a plate in between them.
"I hope you like it... I caught it myself." Said Hume.
"I like everything." Vic shrugged, and began eating.
When they were finished eating, V'icternus stood up. "Well, thanks, Hume... I'm gonna get back to my hotel room now, if that's alright with you..."
"Wait," Hume stopped him. "Don't bother showing up tomorrow morning, Vic."
"What? Why?"
"Because you'll be meeting me there at night, doofus. It's a full moon, so I'm gonna show you what a Waterbender can really do."
"Oh... alright then." Vic left Hume's house.
"Bye!" Hume shouted after him. She closed the door, and sat back down at the table.
"So, that was him, huh?" Her brother walked out of his room.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were working..."
"I asked you a question... was that him?"
"Well... yes, if you must know..."
Karo chuckled. "And you like him why? He eats like a pig, for one thing..."
"Well, we didn't know we were being spied on, Karo..."
He chuckled again. "Fine, Oma..."
After defensively punching her brother in the arm, Hume went to bed.
V'icternus met Hume the next night, and they began the hardest of all her "training" sessions. She battered, bruised and cut him until he was on the ground, panting hard.
"See what I mean? The full moon means we win... period. Under its light, a Waterbender just cannot be beat."
"I... see..." Said Vic, still gasping for air.
"So... how'd you like dinner last night?" Hume asked, her tone of voice changing suddenly.
"Yeah... uh, it was great..." Vic replied, caught off guard by the question.
"So... you wanna come over again? This time I'll make sure my brother's there, and you can meet him..."
"Well, uh... alright." He paused for a second. "Um, Hume? What happened to your parents?"
Vic saw her entire body stiffen.
"My mother died giving birth to me... not long after, dad got sick... real sick... so, for most of my life, it's just been me and Karo..."
"Oh..."
They continued to train in complete silence...
The next night, V'icternus went back to Hume's house. This time, her brother answered the door.
Both of them simply nodded to each other, and Karo let Vic into the house.
Once they had sat down, they began eating. Karo eyed V'icternus, and his eating, across the table.
"Anyway..." Hume began. "How about introductions? Karo, this is Vic... the student I told you about. Vic, this is my brother, Karo."
They both nodded at each other again, and continued eating.
Once everyone was finished, there was a long silence, as no one seemed to want to say anything to anyone else in the presence of the other person. Every single person at the table hoped one of them would leave so they could say something to the one who remained, but none wanted to leave to allow such a thing. In the end, the only talking at all for the rest of the night was a quick goodbye from Hume before Vic left the house.
Hume's training of Vic continued next morning, with nothing too interesting happening.
However, after several days, when V'icternus showed up for their early morning training, Hume wasn't there. This was odd, as she was always there waiting for him.
He waited for several hours, until he had to leave the area as class would be starting soon, and they would need to use the training area. He decided to drop by Hume's house, to see if she was sick, or if something had happened.
Once he arrived, he knocked on the door. There was no answer. He knocked again, and there was still nothing.
He tried one last time, and the door opened. Hume was there, and something was obviously wrong. Before he could say anything, Hume pushed past him and ran off down the street.
Utterly confused, V'icternus followed her.
When he finally caught up, she was on the main south-facing wall of the city. He saw as he walked up to her that she was sobbing.
"Hume... what's the matter?"
She turned around to face him. "Go home... training's cancelled..."
"Why?"
"Because... because I'm not good enough to be a teacher... I'm not even good enough to be a student..."
"What do you mean, Hume? You seem good enough to me..."
"Well, that's changed now... so just go... "
"Not until you tell me why..."
Hume sighed. "Fine... I've been kicked out of the Waterbending school, O.K? Happy now?" She turned away.
"What? Why?"
"We... we just don't have the money for it..."
"Oh..."
"Yeah..."
"Well, that doesn't mean you're not good at it..."
"I... I suppose not..."
She turned back around to face him, still rubbing her eyes. "Thanks..." she said. Then, to Vic's utter surprise, she hugged him.
He froze completely, not knowing what to do. Then, her eyes widened, and she pushed him away. "Get off me!"
Now he was even more confused than before. "What? You hugged me!"
"Don't be ridiculous... why would I have done a thing like that?"
"How would I know? You're the one who hugged me..."
"Ha, you wish..."
V'icternus just looked at her oddly. "Fine, whatever..."
"Well, if you still want me to teach you, I guess I can do that... but from now on, I think we should do it at night. So, tonight, same place as usual, alright?"
"Yeah... fine..."
"Good." Hume turned and walked away, her white hair bouncing along with her.
One thing neither of them knew at the time was that Karo was watching them as they stood on the wall, and while out of ear-shot, still saw what he thought was enough to get a good idea of what was going on. It wasn't until much later that they knew the consequences of this...
That night, Hume and Vic continued their usual training, which, as usual, involved Vic being attacked and beaten with large amounts of water.
Suddenly, without warning, a bolt of lightning flashed overhead. Both of them look up to see it start pouring with rain. Hume seemed to enjoy the experience, while V'icternus was, at best, irritated.
"Hey, let's get inside and out of this rain..."
"Why? Afraid to get wetter than you already are?" Hume replied mockingly.
"No, I just don't like rain..."
This was true, of course. Not only did he dislike water in general since the death of his parents, but the rain always reminded him of a certain night long before their deaths...
"Fine" Hume said, rolling her eyes. "We'll go inside. My house is closest, so we'll head there."
Once inside, Hume grabbed a towel and handed it to Vic, so he could dry off.
Outside, the storm continued to rage, and Vic looked out the window, eying the rain and the occasional lightning bolt, which provided the only light outside.
"Wow... I don't look forward to walking home in that weather..."
Hume looked outside. "You've got to be kidding... you're not thinking of actually going outside, are you?"
"Well, I have to get home..."
"Please, you can't even handle a slight drizzle, how are you gonna stand that?"
"Hey, I..."
"I think you should stay here." Hume said almost defiantly.
"I...What? But there's no room..."
"You can sleep in my bed." She said matter-of-factly.
Vic looked at her oddly.
"Ew! Not like that... I meant you could sleep in my bed and I'd sleep out here on the couch."
"Oh... Oh! Yeah, that makes more sense... but I think the couch'll be fine for me..."
Hume shrugged. "Up to you".
Karo, by this time, had already gone to bed, as he had to get up early to go to work. That is why he was so surprised when he woke up to find Vic sleeping on the couch. However, he didn't have time to look into it, as he had a job to get to.
When Vic awoke in the morning, he wasn't all too happy. He'd had another nightmare. This time wasn't about his parents death, however, but something even further back in his life...
Hume yawned as she entered the room. "'Morning" She half-muttered.
"Mornin'..." Came the reply. "What's for breakfast?"
"Let's see... well, looks like leftover dinner..."
"What is it?"
"Buffalo-fish" She shrugged.
"Sounds good, gimme a peice..."
"Get it yourself."
V'icternus rolled his eyes and stood up to get a slice of the Buffalo-fish.
After breakfast, Vic went back to the hotel he was staying at, and, as there was next to nothing for him to do in this city, sat in his room in the dark all day, until the sun set and he got up to head to his lesson with Hume...
"Jump! No, higher! I want you to leap into the air! Don't jump too low, or I'll chop your legs off!"
V'icternus was doing what Hume called a "Jumping exercise". This involved ice blades flying along the ground and him having to jump or become an amputee.
"Watch it! That last one almost hit me!" Vic said angrily.
"That's the point. Now jump!" She continued sending the blades along at about his knee level.
"Fine, but if I lose a leg, I'm coming after you..."
"Oooh, I'm so scared, the legless killer will come and get me." She teased.
At this, Vic accidentally stumbled. Luckily, he fell flat, so the next blade went over him. He had fallen because when she said "killer", she reminded him that that was what he was... and that sudden jerk back to reality had shocked him.
"If you'd made a mistake like that in a real fight, you'd be dead. What happened?"
"Nothing..."
"I saw that look in your eyes... what happened? Were you attacked by a legless killer once or something?" She chuckled.
"No... I said it's nothing."
"Please, if it were nothing, then..."
"Just drop it!" He half-yelled at her.
"Hey, what'd I do? You're the one who tripped. No need to get all moody about it..."
"I'll get however I want."
Hume paused. "Just when I think I've got you figured out, you do something really weird like this..."
Now, it was Vic's turn to pause. "You never had me figured out..."
"Well, maybe if you weren't so..." She stopped, as he had stood up and was walking away. "Hey! Where're you going?"
There was no reply.
The next day, Vic received a letter. It was a copy of a letter that was being given to everyone in the Northern Water Tribe. It announced that later that day, there was a big gathering, and attendants was mandatory, as the Water Chief would be making an extremely important announcement. V'icternus didn't really see the point in going, so he decided to give it a miss.
When he arrived for his lesson with Hume that night, he found that she wasn't there. He decided to check her house, to see if she was there.
When he arrived, he knocked on the door. It swung open.
He saw Hume crying in her brother's arms. He saw a look on her brother's face as he entered that would normally have him holding his sword to the throat of the person in question. And, he saw Hume turn and look at him with her eyes overwhelmed with tears.
For a second, anyone looking into his eyes might have seen his old self within them. "What happened?" He asked.
"You... you don't know? You didn't even go to the gathering, did you?"
"Well, uh..."
"Fine, I'll tell you... Chief Kaydo announced... he..."
Karo interrupted her. "Our chief announced today that women are no longer to be allowed to receive Waterbending training."
"Wait... wouldn't that mean..."
"That means that my sister will never be able to continue her training... And, she's not going to be training you any more, either"
This seemed to be news to Hume. "What? Why?"
"Because, Hume, you're not qualified... not any more. The new law means you're not even counted as a "Bender". At most, you could be a master healer with your talents, but..."
"So... all my work is just going to be ignored because a council of old people decided that women shouldn't be allowed to Bend?"
Vic nodded in agreement. "That seems like the stupidest law ever... Your Council are a bunch of nitwits."
Hume looked at him. "Well, I know it's not fair, but those are still our customs as of today..."
"Well, your customs are idiotic..."
This seemed to be somewhat of a last straw for Karo."You know what? I don't even remember inviting you in, Vic. And I certainly don't remember you being allowed to insult my people. Oh, and as for making out with my sister..."
This generated the same response from both V'icternus and Hume. "WHAT!?"
Vic then took over the argument. "We never did anything like that!"
"Oh? Don't take me for a fool... I saw you two on the wall the other day."
Now it was Hume's turn to yell. "You were spying on me?! You were spying one me!?!?"
"Good thing I was, or I wouldn't have seen what he did..."
"What he... Wait, you actually thought he... it was just..."
"I don't care what you were doing, or who was doing it. All I need to know is, it had nothing to do with a master/learner relationship."
"So? We're allowed to like each other."
Vic was taken aback. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about us... you know. You... you do know, don't you?"
"Last I know, we were talking about your stupid council's stupid new law... why are we talking about us?"
"Well, it's kind of important... I mean, I thought you..."
Karo interrupted her. "It doesn't matter, Hume. You're not getting with anyone like him."
"You can't control who I date..."
Vic finally caught on and realized what she was talking about. "Wait, what? Date? Us? That's just... crazy."
This caused Hume to stare at him in an odd way. "Crazy? Why? What's wrong with me?"
"Nothing, it's just..."
"It's just he understands better than you do, Hume". Karo said. "He knows that you two can't be together."
"And why not?"
"Because, you need to get with someone... proper. Someone from the Water Tribe. Someone who can support you. In fact, I've been talking to Chief Karyo's son, Karyan, and he's seen you around. He had some very nice things to say about you, sis."
"What!? You've been trying to... betroth me?" She looked both shocked and appalled.
"No, nothing like that. Just, trying to get what's best for you... Besides, isn't it a custom to..."
Now it was time for Vic to interrupt again. "Oh, great, another custom..."
"You know what, Vic? I'm getting sick of your attitude..."
"I wonder if you have a custom that says everyone here has to act like a total..."
"Hey, watch how you talk about my nation..."
Vic didn't care which of the two said this, he just responded as came naturally. "I insult stupid things..."
What happened next was too fast to see. Karo had leaped forward and slashed Vic's back a total of five times with fast moving streams of water. Hume had fallen backward onto the floor as her brother pushed past her. And Vic had drawn his sword and slashed in the direction that the water was coming from. Karo then collided with him, and they had both crashed to the ground. Vic then blacked out...
When he opened his eyes, he saw Karo on the ground, with Hume leaning over him. He saw the ground stained with his own blood. He saw his shirt stained with blood that wasn't his own. He saw his sword in his hand. He saw that Karo's eyes were open, and that he wasn't moving. And he saw that Hume was crying.
He tried to stand, but failed, due to the damage to his back. He managed to ignore the pain long enough to stand.
Hume looked up at him. "He's... dead. My... my brother... he's dead..."
Vic began to speak, but Hume stopped him. "You're a monster... you ruined everything... you're a monster..."
V'icternus had nothing to say to this. He was stunned.
"Truth hurts, doesn't it? Well it is the truth..."
Vic was still silent.
"Get out... if I ever see you again, I'll kill you... and go fast. You've only got fifteen minutes before I call the guards..."
"Hume, I..."
"You made me feel the way I did... you lead me on... but you never felt a thing. And now... you killed the only person I ever had since my parents died... So I'll warn you one more time. Leave."
"But I..."
"Do I have to say it again? I do not want you here. You are a monster! That's the truth. The cold truth."
She looked down at her brothers face. Already it was getting pale. When she looked back up, Vic was gone. She noticed a faint trail of blood leading out the door. "Good riddance..." She began to cry, knowing that her life as it was was over.
V'icternus, meanwhile, was half-limping down to the main dock. He knew there was a boat every day going to and from the Northern tip of the Earth Kingdom. He boarded it, paying his fee, and sat down on the boat. He tried not to focus on the movement of the boat on the water, or on the pain in his back, but there wasn't much more to focus on. He wished he was walking. Walking was something he could do and then just stop thinking. This boat ride was gonna be rough.
And yet, one part of him knew that he could have stayed. He could have tried to make things better. He could have explained. But he made a decision. Keep moving, and forget it. And though he didn't know it, he also made another decision. Run. Just keep running. Then your problems will never catch you...
And so he did. He ran. Ran from the North Pole, knowing that if he ever went there again, he'd be killed or arrested. And so, even though he was really sitting on a rather slow moving boat, he was running. Running from the cold truth...
Seven months. Seven long months since his parents had died. Vic had finally decided he would require some training if he was going to fight Benders, especially as normal people cannot usually compare. That was why he was shivering out of cold and fear.
He was on a small boat headed for the Northern Water Tribe, where he hoped to learn about Waterbending, so he could find it's weaknesses, and use them.
"We'll be there soon, don't worry." said the captain, noticing Vic's obvious seasickness and fear. V'icternus, never having learned to swim, was terrified of the ocean.
"Good..."
"Ah, there it is! The North Pole." the captain exclaimed.
V'icternus looked up, and saw a wall, a massive wall made of ice. It lowered as they entered the city, and he saw the teams of Waterbenders manipulating them.
"Yep, I'm gonna find what I want here..."
After docking, Vic spent over fifteen minutes composing himself. Then, he began looking around.
He was nervous about the entire city being made of ice, and the many rivers were no comfort at all. The large amount of Waterbenders he noticed only served to put him on edge.
V'icternus decided to get the hardest part over with... finding a master to teach him. He would have to be able to teach Waterbending, without his student being able to Waterbend... this might take some explaining.
He decided to check out the local Waterbending school. He knew that would be the best place to find a good teacher. Hopefully they would be willing to teach him...
"Absolutely not. I refuse to teach a non-Waterbender how to Waterbend. Now stop wasting my time."
Vic moved aggressively toward the Master, but then he heard a voice from the class.
"Uh, I could teach him, Master..."
He turned to see a girl, about his age, addressing the Master.
"Hume, you're only a student yourself." The Master replied.
"Yeah, the best one you have! And, he only wants to know the basics... I can teach him that."
"If you think you are ready..."
"Hey, I was born ready." boasted Hume.
The Master turned to Vic. "Very well... you shall be taught by Hume. Keep in mind that this means she is your Master. Disobey her, and you'll answer to her master."
"Fine... when can we start?" Vic asked her.
"How about first I get an idea of your abilities... meet me in the training field tomorrow morning, early."
"O.K., then..."
That night, Vic stayed at a local inn. He was, once again, uncomfortable with the entire structure being ice-made, but eventually, he managed to get to sleep.
Waking up early, as he normally did, he made his way to the training field near the school.
As he entered, he saw Hume already waiting for him. Her white hair seemed to shine in the fading moonlight.
"You ready?"
"Uh, ready for what?" He questioned.
She summoned up two massive funnels of water.
"For your beating."
She sent one of them twirling at him.
He instinctively rolled under it, and kept rolling until he knocked her off her feet.
She sat up, slightly dazed. "Hey! You're not allowed to... you're not supposed to..."
"Well, maybe you need to practice more..."
Hume got to her feet.
"Practice!?"
She made two long, thin blades out of ice.
"I'll show you practice!" She lunged at him.
He drew his sword and they started fighting.
"I... thought... you... were... teaching... me... Waterbending!" He said, still parrying and slashing with his own blade.
"You... can't... even... Bend!" As she said this, she spun around and combined the two blades into one long Katana made of ice.
She thought for a moment. "Well, for your first lesson, I think we'll work on movement... watch how I move." She attacked him, sweeping her in slow, wide arcs. "Just like in Waterbending, you have to move with the blade, not force the blade to go where you want it to. Now, you try."
Vic began moving his blade in the same way. The exact same way.
"C'mon, you need some feeling!" Hume said eagerly, "Technique in Bending will get you the points, but the originality, the flare is what gives you the win!"
"Well, O.K..." Vic began moving faster, ducking lower, but still keeping the flow of his motions going.
"Well, that's... O.K, I guess..." Accepted Hume, looking slightly impressed. "But, now you need to learn lesson two... balance! " She sent him sprawling with a small twist of her hand, tilting the ice he was standing on.
"A Waterbender needs balance. Despite doing all our Bending with our hands, our feet need to bend and move with our environment as well." She demonstrated by riding an ice-slide that she formed under herself, twisting to almost ninety degree angles, yet never falling or stopping her Bending.
"Now, I want you..." She lifted a small, thin pillar out of the ice, "To stand on that, and don't fall off. I'm going to try and knock you over. Don't fall."
She began by shooting ice spikes at him, which he deflected or smashed with his sword, while he still managed to maintain his balance. He almost fell several times, but always managed to get his balance back before the next attack.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this..."
At this, Hume lifted up a large wave and sent it at him, knocking him off the pole.
"What was that for!?" Vic shouted at her.
"You were getting too confident... had to show you how easy it was to lose your balance if you don't focus. Anyway, we're done for today... I've got to get ready for class anyway. Tomorrow, same time, same place."
"Fine..."
For the rest of the day, Vic spent his time training, and thinking about the lesson itself.
When he arrived the next morning...
"Think fast!"
Hume had wasted no time in testing his reflexes, and when he showed they were up to standard by catching the ice-ball she had thrown, she started showing him some basic Waterbending moves.
"Well, you seem to be getting the hang of blocking my most simple, easy, basic attacks, I guess..." said Hume reluctantly. "But can you handle something a little more advanced?"
She summoned up some water, and spun it around her, gathering more and more, forcing V'icternus to back up to avoid getting hit by the fast moving water.
Then, he rolled under the swirling circle of water, and jumped up so he was stand right in front of Hume, sword drawn.
She hid her surprise by melting the ice he was standing on, and sinking him into a chest-deep puddle, before re-freezing the ice, and standing over him, smirking.
"Had enough?" She half-taunted.
"Hey! Let me out of here!" Vic yelled, struggling to break free.
"Fine... " She re-melted the ice, and he climbed out of the puddle.
Several weeks of this kind of training later, and V'icternus was still being constantly tested by Hume, who seemed to dislike it when he exceeded her expectations, and would take any opportunity to make him uncomfortable, such as freezing him, near-drowning him, and knocking him off his feet.
"Well, you've improved since you first started, I guess... and, uh, I suppose I should congratulate you... tell you what, tonight, you can have dinner at my place. It's the third one built into the West wall..."
"... Fine, I'll be there..."
"You can meet my brother..."
So, that night, Vic arrived at Hume's house. His first impression was that it was a cave. The door was built into the wall of ice that made up the west wall of the city. V'icternus knocked on the circular, slightly shabby looking wooden door.
Hume opened the door. "Took you long enough..."
"I thought I was right on time...'
"Well... whatever, just get in here." She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.
It was a small house, with what looked like a dining area, an area for preparing food, two bedrooms, and one room with a curtain over the door, which Vic assumed was the bathroom.
"Sorry, my brother wont be here tonight... he's doing a little extra work, you know..."
"That's fine..."
They sat down at the table, a large fish on a plate in between them.
"I hope you like it... I caught it myself." Said Hume.
"I like everything." Vic shrugged, and began eating.
When they were finished eating, V'icternus stood up. "Well, thanks, Hume... I'm gonna get back to my hotel room now, if that's alright with you..."
"Wait," Hume stopped him. "Don't bother showing up tomorrow morning, Vic."
"What? Why?"
"Because you'll be meeting me there at night, doofus. It's a full moon, so I'm gonna show you what a Waterbender can really do."
"Oh... alright then." Vic left Hume's house.
"Bye!" Hume shouted after him. She closed the door, and sat back down at the table.
"So, that was him, huh?" Her brother walked out of his room.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were working..."
"I asked you a question... was that him?"
"Well... yes, if you must know..."
Karo chuckled. "And you like him why? He eats like a pig, for one thing..."
"Well, we didn't know we were being spied on, Karo..."
He chuckled again. "Fine, Oma..."
After defensively punching her brother in the arm, Hume went to bed.
V'icternus met Hume the next night, and they began the hardest of all her "training" sessions. She battered, bruised and cut him until he was on the ground, panting hard.
"See what I mean? The full moon means we win... period. Under its light, a Waterbender just cannot be beat."
"I... see..." Said Vic, still gasping for air.
"So... how'd you like dinner last night?" Hume asked, her tone of voice changing suddenly.
"Yeah... uh, it was great..." Vic replied, caught off guard by the question.
"So... you wanna come over again? This time I'll make sure my brother's there, and you can meet him..."
"Well, uh... alright." He paused for a second. "Um, Hume? What happened to your parents?"
Vic saw her entire body stiffen.
"My mother died giving birth to me... not long after, dad got sick... real sick... so, for most of my life, it's just been me and Karo..."
"Oh..."
They continued to train in complete silence...
The next night, V'icternus went back to Hume's house. This time, her brother answered the door.
Both of them simply nodded to each other, and Karo let Vic into the house.
Once they had sat down, they began eating. Karo eyed V'icternus, and his eating, across the table.
"Anyway..." Hume began. "How about introductions? Karo, this is Vic... the student I told you about. Vic, this is my brother, Karo."
They both nodded at each other again, and continued eating.
Once everyone was finished, there was a long silence, as no one seemed to want to say anything to anyone else in the presence of the other person. Every single person at the table hoped one of them would leave so they could say something to the one who remained, but none wanted to leave to allow such a thing. In the end, the only talking at all for the rest of the night was a quick goodbye from Hume before Vic left the house.
Hume's training of Vic continued next morning, with nothing too interesting happening.
However, after several days, when V'icternus showed up for their early morning training, Hume wasn't there. This was odd, as she was always there waiting for him.
He waited for several hours, until he had to leave the area as class would be starting soon, and they would need to use the training area. He decided to drop by Hume's house, to see if she was sick, or if something had happened.
Once he arrived, he knocked on the door. There was no answer. He knocked again, and there was still nothing.
He tried one last time, and the door opened. Hume was there, and something was obviously wrong. Before he could say anything, Hume pushed past him and ran off down the street.
Utterly confused, V'icternus followed her.
When he finally caught up, she was on the main south-facing wall of the city. He saw as he walked up to her that she was sobbing.
"Hume... what's the matter?"
She turned around to face him. "Go home... training's cancelled..."
"Why?"
"Because... because I'm not good enough to be a teacher... I'm not even good enough to be a student..."
"What do you mean, Hume? You seem good enough to me..."
"Well, that's changed now... so just go... "
"Not until you tell me why..."
Hume sighed. "Fine... I've been kicked out of the Waterbending school, O.K? Happy now?" She turned away.
"What? Why?"
"We... we just don't have the money for it..."
"Oh..."
"Yeah..."
"Well, that doesn't mean you're not good at it..."
"I... I suppose not..."
She turned back around to face him, still rubbing her eyes. "Thanks..." she said. Then, to Vic's utter surprise, she hugged him.
He froze completely, not knowing what to do. Then, her eyes widened, and she pushed him away. "Get off me!"
Now he was even more confused than before. "What? You hugged me!"
"Don't be ridiculous... why would I have done a thing like that?"
"How would I know? You're the one who hugged me..."
"Ha, you wish..."
V'icternus just looked at her oddly. "Fine, whatever..."
"Well, if you still want me to teach you, I guess I can do that... but from now on, I think we should do it at night. So, tonight, same place as usual, alright?"
"Yeah... fine..."
"Good." Hume turned and walked away, her white hair bouncing along with her.
One thing neither of them knew at the time was that Karo was watching them as they stood on the wall, and while out of ear-shot, still saw what he thought was enough to get a good idea of what was going on. It wasn't until much later that they knew the consequences of this...
That night, Hume and Vic continued their usual training, which, as usual, involved Vic being attacked and beaten with large amounts of water.
Suddenly, without warning, a bolt of lightning flashed overhead. Both of them look up to see it start pouring with rain. Hume seemed to enjoy the experience, while V'icternus was, at best, irritated.
"Hey, let's get inside and out of this rain..."
"Why? Afraid to get wetter than you already are?" Hume replied mockingly.
"No, I just don't like rain..."
This was true, of course. Not only did he dislike water in general since the death of his parents, but the rain always reminded him of a certain night long before their deaths...
"Fine" Hume said, rolling her eyes. "We'll go inside. My house is closest, so we'll head there."
Once inside, Hume grabbed a towel and handed it to Vic, so he could dry off.
Outside, the storm continued to rage, and Vic looked out the window, eying the rain and the occasional lightning bolt, which provided the only light outside.
"Wow... I don't look forward to walking home in that weather..."
Hume looked outside. "You've got to be kidding... you're not thinking of actually going outside, are you?"
"Well, I have to get home..."
"Please, you can't even handle a slight drizzle, how are you gonna stand that?"
"Hey, I..."
"I think you should stay here." Hume said almost defiantly.
"I...What? But there's no room..."
"You can sleep in my bed." She said matter-of-factly.
Vic looked at her oddly.
"Ew! Not like that... I meant you could sleep in my bed and I'd sleep out here on the couch."
"Oh... Oh! Yeah, that makes more sense... but I think the couch'll be fine for me..."
Hume shrugged. "Up to you".
Karo, by this time, had already gone to bed, as he had to get up early to go to work. That is why he was so surprised when he woke up to find Vic sleeping on the couch. However, he didn't have time to look into it, as he had a job to get to.
When Vic awoke in the morning, he wasn't all too happy. He'd had another nightmare. This time wasn't about his parents death, however, but something even further back in his life...
Hume yawned as she entered the room. "'Morning" She half-muttered.
"Mornin'..." Came the reply. "What's for breakfast?"
"Let's see... well, looks like leftover dinner..."
"What is it?"
"Buffalo-fish" She shrugged.
"Sounds good, gimme a peice..."
"Get it yourself."
V'icternus rolled his eyes and stood up to get a slice of the Buffalo-fish.
After breakfast, Vic went back to the hotel he was staying at, and, as there was next to nothing for him to do in this city, sat in his room in the dark all day, until the sun set and he got up to head to his lesson with Hume...
"Jump! No, higher! I want you to leap into the air! Don't jump too low, or I'll chop your legs off!"
V'icternus was doing what Hume called a "Jumping exercise". This involved ice blades flying along the ground and him having to jump or become an amputee.
"Watch it! That last one almost hit me!" Vic said angrily.
"That's the point. Now jump!" She continued sending the blades along at about his knee level.
"Fine, but if I lose a leg, I'm coming after you..."
"Oooh, I'm so scared, the legless killer will come and get me." She teased.
At this, Vic accidentally stumbled. Luckily, he fell flat, so the next blade went over him. He had fallen because when she said "killer", she reminded him that that was what he was... and that sudden jerk back to reality had shocked him.
"If you'd made a mistake like that in a real fight, you'd be dead. What happened?"
"Nothing..."
"I saw that look in your eyes... what happened? Were you attacked by a legless killer once or something?" She chuckled.
"No... I said it's nothing."
"Please, if it were nothing, then..."
"Just drop it!" He half-yelled at her.
"Hey, what'd I do? You're the one who tripped. No need to get all moody about it..."
"I'll get however I want."
Hume paused. "Just when I think I've got you figured out, you do something really weird like this..."
Now, it was Vic's turn to pause. "You never had me figured out..."
"Well, maybe if you weren't so..." She stopped, as he had stood up and was walking away. "Hey! Where're you going?"
There was no reply.
The next day, Vic received a letter. It was a copy of a letter that was being given to everyone in the Northern Water Tribe. It announced that later that day, there was a big gathering, and attendants was mandatory, as the Water Chief would be making an extremely important announcement. V'icternus didn't really see the point in going, so he decided to give it a miss.
When he arrived for his lesson with Hume that night, he found that she wasn't there. He decided to check her house, to see if she was there.
When he arrived, he knocked on the door. It swung open.
He saw Hume crying in her brother's arms. He saw a look on her brother's face as he entered that would normally have him holding his sword to the throat of the person in question. And, he saw Hume turn and look at him with her eyes overwhelmed with tears.
For a second, anyone looking into his eyes might have seen his old self within them. "What happened?" He asked.
"You... you don't know? You didn't even go to the gathering, did you?"
"Well, uh..."
"Fine, I'll tell you... Chief Kaydo announced... he..."
Karo interrupted her. "Our chief announced today that women are no longer to be allowed to receive Waterbending training."
"Wait... wouldn't that mean..."
"That means that my sister will never be able to continue her training... And, she's not going to be training you any more, either"
This seemed to be news to Hume. "What? Why?"
"Because, Hume, you're not qualified... not any more. The new law means you're not even counted as a "Bender". At most, you could be a master healer with your talents, but..."
"So... all my work is just going to be ignored because a council of old people decided that women shouldn't be allowed to Bend?"
Vic nodded in agreement. "That seems like the stupidest law ever... Your Council are a bunch of nitwits."
Hume looked at him. "Well, I know it's not fair, but those are still our customs as of today..."
"Well, your customs are idiotic..."
This seemed to be somewhat of a last straw for Karo."You know what? I don't even remember inviting you in, Vic. And I certainly don't remember you being allowed to insult my people. Oh, and as for making out with my sister..."
This generated the same response from both V'icternus and Hume. "WHAT!?"
Vic then took over the argument. "We never did anything like that!"
"Oh? Don't take me for a fool... I saw you two on the wall the other day."
Now it was Hume's turn to yell. "You were spying on me?! You were spying one me!?!?"
"Good thing I was, or I wouldn't have seen what he did..."
"What he... Wait, you actually thought he... it was just..."
"I don't care what you were doing, or who was doing it. All I need to know is, it had nothing to do with a master/learner relationship."
"So? We're allowed to like each other."
Vic was taken aback. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about us... you know. You... you do know, don't you?"
"Last I know, we were talking about your stupid council's stupid new law... why are we talking about us?"
"Well, it's kind of important... I mean, I thought you..."
Karo interrupted her. "It doesn't matter, Hume. You're not getting with anyone like him."
"You can't control who I date..."
Vic finally caught on and realized what she was talking about. "Wait, what? Date? Us? That's just... crazy."
This caused Hume to stare at him in an odd way. "Crazy? Why? What's wrong with me?"
"Nothing, it's just..."
"It's just he understands better than you do, Hume". Karo said. "He knows that you two can't be together."
"And why not?"
"Because, you need to get with someone... proper. Someone from the Water Tribe. Someone who can support you. In fact, I've been talking to Chief Karyo's son, Karyan, and he's seen you around. He had some very nice things to say about you, sis."
"What!? You've been trying to... betroth me?" She looked both shocked and appalled.
"No, nothing like that. Just, trying to get what's best for you... Besides, isn't it a custom to..."
Now it was time for Vic to interrupt again. "Oh, great, another custom..."
"You know what, Vic? I'm getting sick of your attitude..."
"I wonder if you have a custom that says everyone here has to act like a total..."
"Hey, watch how you talk about my nation..."
Vic didn't care which of the two said this, he just responded as came naturally. "I insult stupid things..."
What happened next was too fast to see. Karo had leaped forward and slashed Vic's back a total of five times with fast moving streams of water. Hume had fallen backward onto the floor as her brother pushed past her. And Vic had drawn his sword and slashed in the direction that the water was coming from. Karo then collided with him, and they had both crashed to the ground. Vic then blacked out...
When he opened his eyes, he saw Karo on the ground, with Hume leaning over him. He saw the ground stained with his own blood. He saw his shirt stained with blood that wasn't his own. He saw his sword in his hand. He saw that Karo's eyes were open, and that he wasn't moving. And he saw that Hume was crying.
He tried to stand, but failed, due to the damage to his back. He managed to ignore the pain long enough to stand.
Hume looked up at him. "He's... dead. My... my brother... he's dead..."
Vic began to speak, but Hume stopped him. "You're a monster... you ruined everything... you're a monster..."
V'icternus had nothing to say to this. He was stunned.
"Truth hurts, doesn't it? Well it is the truth..."
Vic was still silent.
"Get out... if I ever see you again, I'll kill you... and go fast. You've only got fifteen minutes before I call the guards..."
"Hume, I..."
"You made me feel the way I did... you lead me on... but you never felt a thing. And now... you killed the only person I ever had since my parents died... So I'll warn you one more time. Leave."
"But I..."
"Do I have to say it again? I do not want you here. You are a monster! That's the truth. The cold truth."
She looked down at her brothers face. Already it was getting pale. When she looked back up, Vic was gone. She noticed a faint trail of blood leading out the door. "Good riddance..." She began to cry, knowing that her life as it was was over.
V'icternus, meanwhile, was half-limping down to the main dock. He knew there was a boat every day going to and from the Northern tip of the Earth Kingdom. He boarded it, paying his fee, and sat down on the boat. He tried not to focus on the movement of the boat on the water, or on the pain in his back, but there wasn't much more to focus on. He wished he was walking. Walking was something he could do and then just stop thinking. This boat ride was gonna be rough.
And yet, one part of him knew that he could have stayed. He could have tried to make things better. He could have explained. But he made a decision. Keep moving, and forget it. And though he didn't know it, he also made another decision. Run. Just keep running. Then your problems will never catch you...
And so he did. He ran. Ran from the North Pole, knowing that if he ever went there again, he'd be killed or arrested. And so, even though he was really sitting on a rather slow moving boat, he was running. Running from the cold truth...
