The Spirit Bender

09. Gifts and Goodbyes

"loosing yourself in new surroundings, is the best way to find yourself,"

THE PICTURE IS MAE'S OUTFIT. THE ONLY THING DIFFERENT IS THE HAIR. HERS IS THE FREE FALLING HAIR WITHOUT THE HAIR LOOPIES.

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Leaving behind Juan, my betrothal necklace and my old life hadn't been as hard as I thought. It wasn't the first time I had done it and it seemed the second time was much easier. I slept more during the night and I knew who I wanted to be in the world. Or I at least had a better idea.

We had been out on the sea for a few weeks. It was late at night and I found myself awake with excitement. The next morning would be the day we began traveling with Appa towards the Earth Kingdom. When suddenly Aang awoke, he was sleeping in the berth beside me. 

I crawled out of bed and followed him. He was standing by the railing, looking out over the sea. I figured he had had a nightmare of some sort, so I slowly approached him. "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Nah, just a nightmare. I was in the Avatar State, but I was outside my body watching myself. It was scary. I was scary," he said and lowered his head.

I grabbed his shoulder and he turned around. We embraced each other in a hug.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Aang asked.

I shook her head. "I keep thinking about tomorrow. I've never been away from the water tribe you know. I've never seen the Earth Kingdom before."

Aang smiled. "It's nice. Definitely a change from all the snow, and water is a rare thing to come by sometimes, unfortunately. But other than that. It's beautiful."

We kept staring into the sky until we mutually decided that we should get back to bed before the sun rose and we wouldn't have gotten any sleep.

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The morning after was the day we left.

Pakku had gifts he wanted to give. "Katara, I want you to have this," Pakku started and held up a flask. "This amulet contains water from the Spirit Oasis. The water has unique properties. Don't lose it," he said and gave Katara the little flask.

"Thank you, Master Pakku," Katara said and gave Pakku a hug.

"Aang, these scrolls will help you master waterbending. But remember, they're no substitute for a real master," Pakku said and gave Aang the box of scrolls. He cast Katara a look. 

Sokka then stepped forward, expecting to get some kind of relic from Pakku. But he simply patted Sokka on his shoulder, "take care, son," he said and Sokka frowned.

"Mae..." Pakku started, he looked proudly at me. I smiled at him with a tear in my eye. "I have watched you grow since I first saw that little strong girl in the Oasis six years ago. You are by far the most talented waterbender to have walked the earth, and I will always remember your free spirit and brave heart," he said and I hugged him tightly. "Now I don't have anything that might help you, all I have is this," he said and showed me a necklace.

"Pakku..." I started.

"No. This is yours now. Wear it with pride," he said.

I nodded and Pakku put the necklace around my neck. I moved in to give Pakku another big hug. "I'll miss you old man."

Pakku chuckled. "Go now."

I nodded and cast a glance at Appa. I had never flown on a flying bison for obvious reasons, so the thought of soaring on a bison scared me a little.

Katara extended her arm for me to grab. I did and got onto Appa, and made sure to grab the saddle tightly. 

"Fly straight to the Earth Kingdom base to the east of here. General Fong will provide you with an escort to Omashu. There, Aang will be safe to begin his earthbending training with King Bumi," Pakku said and pointed east.

Aang nodded. "Appa, yip yip!" he said and the bison began flying.

"Say hi to Gran-Gran for me!" Katara yelled as we passed the ship.

My grip loosened more and more as I realized the feeling of flying made me feel free. "First time flyer?" Sokka asked and I nodded. "It's great isn't it?"

"Yes. It's perfect."

-

Hours passed. I sat and played with some water. "So I've been wondering, what happened when you jumped into the ocean, and what's so special about that necklace?" Aang suddenly asked in a low voice.

"Huh?" I asked and turned around, to see Aang looking at me. I cast a look behind her, both Sokka and Katara were doing their own thing. "What do you mean?" I asked.

He shrugged, "you know, those tattoo thingy's lit up," he said. "But they're gone now."

"Oh, that," I smiled and sat up.

"I'm what you call a spirit bender. Basically, I have a strong connection to the spirits and these tattoos," I held my arm out to Aang and the tattoos appeared,  "indicate whenever I've been visited by one. For example," I said and pointed to a tattoo on my upper arm. "This indicates the gift of bravery. I got it when I dived from the war tower and down into the ocean, for the first time," I explained.

"My most recent was from Yue. She visited me during the siege and gave me the gift of selflessness," I remembered, feeling a tear press on.

"What's that?" Aang asked.

I sighed. "That's when my understanding stops. Sometimes it makes sense like when I got the gift of acceptance. It allowed me to embrace my destiny and enter the spirit world. But sometimes I just don't get it. All I know is the amazing feeling it gives me. I feel so powerful. You can't imagine it. Although your Avatar State might be a good supplement." Aang chuckled at this.

"So," Aang started after a little pause. "Me being the Avatar and you being a spirit bender, does that make us destined for each other?" he asked. I broke from my gaze and sat up straight.

"What?" I asked confused.

Aang looked embarrassed at me. "Uh, like destined to uh... you know. Save the world?" he said trying to save it.

"Uhm... right," I said and turned away from him. Katara and Sokka were looking at us with a weird expression. I felt my cheeks getting warm and out of the corner of my eye I could see that Aang was wearing a sad expression. My expression then turned sad as well.

"The necklace is a relic that's been passed down for generations in the Northern Water Tribe. It's supposed to be worn by the spiritual leader. It wasn't worn for a long time, but now it's mine. And I won't let my tribe down."

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AUTHORS NOTE
Thanks for reading!
Leave a comment and tell me what you thought about the chapter!

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RE-EDITED: 10/06/19

Not super sure about this re-edit. But this it for the time being <3

RE-EDITED: 13/10/19