Aear's Story

[The~Quenchiest]

To know the true meaning of suffering, one must hear this story. It is the story of a girl. Her name is Aear. Aear is a Waterbender but was born in the Earth Kingdom. She has lived there her whole life. Unlike most of the people in the world she has blonde hair rather then black. Her eyes are blue as the sea and she is a tall, slender, graceful person. At the age of fourteen, she became a master Waterbender, having learned everything she knows from her mother. But now, at the age of seventeen, she leads a nomad’s life. Her father was killed in a battle against the Fire Nation when she was only two years old and her mother was murdered just after she had mastered Waterbending. The Fire Nation wanted to eliminate all master Benders from the rest of the nations so they could not teach others to fight against them. When the soldiers came for her mother, she was safely hidden. It tortured her to do so. She wanted to stand and fight with her mother but she was not allowed. She saw the whole thing. Her mother stood her ground against ten Firebenders before she was burned to death. When she saw her mother fall, Aear’s heart was scared and it was a scar that would not heal. That night she did not sleep but cried next to the river where she had practiced her bending so many times before. When the sun had finally risen, she made her way amongst the village to her friends’ houses, asking for supplies and transportation. She acquired a fair bit of money, food, water, and an ostrich horse which she named Terra. She said her goodbyes and was off. She didn’t know where and didn’t particularly care either. Days blurred together and she could hardly remember anything she had done after a few hours. Aear's grief continued to consume her, causing her to repel every other person from herself. She stopped her bending practice, only calling upon the skill to gather water or amuse herself with a solitary sliver of water dancing before. She had traveled a great distance north and was now only a few miles east of the Serpents Pass. Her supplies were running low so she stopped in the next village. It was a small place with one main street. It was a little less then half a mile long with more shops then homes. There was a well at the north end of the town and several ostrich horses were tied up infront of houses. It was late and shops were closed by the time she arrived. She gave a sigh, seeing this as one more thing in the long line of misfortunet events that she encountered. She swung her leg over Terra's back and led her down an alley. Here she unrolled her sleeping bag, fed Terra a small meal then tried to get some shut eye.

[The~Quenchiest]

She woke next morning to the sound of squwaking ostrich horses, foot steps on the ground and peoples voices. It was about 10:00 o'clock in the morning. This was much to early for someone in her state. She threw her arms over her face as Terra gave a caw behind her. Her stomach growled unpleasently but she ignored it. Getting up to go to the market seemed like to much work at the moment. "Are you alright?" came a voice. Terra stirred again behind her and she lifted her arms just enough to see who had spoken. She liked what she saw. A man not much taller then herself stood looking down upon her with a concerned look. He had short black hair that was rather untidy and stuck up at a slight angle in the front. He had high cheek bones and a clean, slender face. He was very handsome and Aear suddenly realized that she must look like a mess. She pushed herself up suddenly, making the man infront of her jump slightly. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to tame it. "Uh, yeah, yeah I'm fine." she stammered slightly. He gave a small smile. "Well here, let me help you." he said, reaching out his right hand. As she went to grab it, Aear noticed a burn scar. It was an unbroken band, running across his palm, over fingers and over the back of his hand as well. She noticed a rather uneasy look cross his face. She grabbed his hand none-the-less and felt his strong arm pull her forward and up. They were quite close to each other. Aear gave a nervous laugh and took a step back. "Thanks." she said softly. He seemed rather amused by her reactions and chuckled himself. "No problem." he replied, running his scarred hand through his hair. Aear bent down and picked up the blanket that had dropped off of her and began to fold it. "So, whats your name?" she asked, not wanting him to leave. "Nar." he replied, "What about you?" She stood back up after stuffing the blanket into her bag, faced him and said, "Aear. Its nice to meet you Nar." They exchanged smiles and then an awkward silence over took them. "So, where are you headed?" Nar asked finally. Aear was glad he had decided to continue their conversation. "Oh," she said, taking a step back and pulling Terra to her feet, "just going wherever. No real destination." She then began to pack the rest of her belongings, throwing them over Terra's back. "Ah, so you're a nomad?" he replied, stepping forward almost cautiously. She turned her head to look at him, a rather embarressed look on her face. "Yeah." she mumbled, tightening the saddle bags. All of a sudden, she no longer wanted to be around Nar. She ran her fingers through her hair once more, tied it back and jumped onto Terra. "It was nice meeting you." she said, then kicked Terra forward. She had disappeared behind the corner before Nar could even say good-bye. He leaned against the house, feeling like an idiot. He knew it must have been his comment about her being a nomad that made her run off. He let his head rest on his chest as he stared at the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something glinting. Pushing himself off the wall, he bent down beside what appeared to be matching necklace and bracelets. They were quite stunning. The bracelets were about half an inch wide covered by a narrow glass casing. The necklace was on a short chain that, on the proper owner, would allow the tear drop amulet to fall to the collar bone. Both held the same unearthly substance. It was as if water had been trapped inside the glass. But the color was to rich to be water; normal water at least. It flowed and danced, appearing to freeze then unfreeze, making it impossible to call it liquid or solid. For a moment, Nar simply gazed at them, as if in a trance. The shout of someone on the main street brought him back to reality. He new instantly that these must belong to Aear. He also new that this was his chance to leave. He had been waiting for the right moment and now it had come. He sprinted out of the alley back to his house where he began to gather food, money and significant personal belongings. Giving a quick explination to his parents, he dashed out the door, mounted his ostrich horse Orod, and was off.

[The~Quenchiest]

Aear rode swiftly as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. She was not angry at Nar. He didn’t know her troubled past. She had once again been taken over by her sorrow. Nar was a nice guy, why did she have to go and run off like that? When the town had vanished behind her, she tugged on Terra’s reins, bringing her down to a walk. She did not look up where she was going but instead let her head sag onto her chest, swinging slightly side to side. Her stomach growled again and she remembered her unfinished task of going to the market. As they came across a tree covered area, Aear pulled Terra over and tied her to a low hanging branch while she walked off to find some water. Not five minutes after she left, Nar and Orod caught sight of Terra and came to a halt. He did not dismount just yet but looked around, hoping to see Aear. With no such luck, he jumped off and brought Orod over by Terra. “You two be nice now.” he said, giving them both a pat. Turning around, he wondered where she could be. He looked down, noticing light footprints in the dirt. Without a second thought, he followed them. Aear knelt by a stream only a minute or so from where she left Terra. She slowly bended a stream of water into her water pouch and capped it. She then let out a heavy sigh. She wanted to go back and apologize to Nar but didn’t have the guts. A sudden wave of anger washed over her and she flung out her arm, causing a great wave of water to rise up in the air and fall back with a splash. Aear remained dry, having bended the water around her. “Are you alright?” said a familiar voice. Aear spun around to she Nar standing there, soaking wet. “Oh!” she said in a shocked voice. She quickly got to her feet and went to him. He was laughing softly and flinging water from his hands. “Waterbender, eh?” he said smiling. Aear blushed. “Yeah. Here, let me get that.” she said, noticing his useless attempt to dry himself. She put out her hands and made a swift pulling motion back towards her. Drops of water slowly pulled themselves from Nar clothes, forming a mid-sized ball in front of the two. She held it there, watching Nar over the top of it. He stared back at her. Then, he slowly reached out to the ball of water dancing between them. Aear’s heart began to beat faster as his hand grew closer and closer to the water. At contact, Aear gasped and the water fell with a splash at their feet. Both jumped a bit but it was Aear who turned away, feeling like an idiot. Nar was laughing behind her. She didn’t turn to look at him but instead was mentally yelling at herself. ‘You’re such an idiot! Why did you do that?!’ she was thinking. “Hey,” Nar said, putting a hand on her shoulder, “don’t worry about it.” She quickly wiped her eyes which had started to water again and turned back to him. A comforting smile was on his face that warmed her insides and made her smile as well. “Why did you come after me?” she asked after a moment of silence. A sly glint jumped into his eyes and he took a few steps back. “Well, I figured, once you found they were missing of course, you might want these back.” He said, pivoting around with two bracelets and a necklace hanging from his fingers. Aear’s eyes widened and she took in a sharp, quick breath. “Where did you find these?” she asked, walking over to him and taking the necklace from him. “I think they fell out of your bags when you left in such a hurry.” he replied. Aear had fastened the necklace around her neck. Her hands gently followed the chain down to the cerulean amulet. She gave Nar an apologetic look as she let the cool glass slip through her fingers. “I’m sorry, I just—” “No I’m sorry.” Nar cut in. He went over to her and took her arm. “I shouldn’t have called you a nomad.” he said as he slipped one of the bracelets over her slender wrist. He let it drop to her side and took the other arm. “I should have been more understanding.” he said, slipping the other bracelet over her wrist. This time, he held her hand in his, looking into her eyes and she into his. “But that’s what I am.” she whispered. “I have no home to go to, no friend to seek shelter with. I’ve never even been to my tribe!” she said a little more forcefully. There was now fury in her eyes. It was a fiery hate for the Fire Nation, for what they had done to her family. She pulled her hand from his. Her blonde hair flew out behind her, almost hitting Nar in the face, as she flung around. “The Fire Nation took my father, my mother. They’ve kept me from my home my whole life.” she spat bitterly, shaking slightly from rage. Behind her, Nar’s face was lined with worry. Aear turned back to see the last signs of this on his face. “What’s wrong?” she said, voice relaxed again. Nar dismissed his worry as best he could and put on a forced smile. “Nothing.” he said. Aear looked as though she was going to question him further but she seemed to take this lie for now. She sighed and went over to him. “I’m sorry I got angry.” she said, reaching out and touching his forearm. He seemed to recoil ever so slightly at her touch. He looked down at her hand, briefly mesmerized by the bracelet once again. “Shall we go then?” she asked, cheerful once more. Nar looked up. “Yes lets.” he said. Together they walked back to Terra and Orod. It seemed the two had made friends. They looked like they had been playing tag around the tree trunk. It had gotten them both tangled in their ropes and looking very uncomfortable but content with each other none-the-less. Nar and Aear made quick work untangling them, mounted, and rode off, the sun high in the sky.

[The~Quenchiest]

As days passed, Aear’s grief subsided. She was happy more and found herself thinking less and less about her terrible past. It still pained her when particular images or phrases reminded her of her mother or father but she tried to dismiss them quickly. She came to the conclusion that it was because she had told Nar the events of her troubled past she found her mood higher on the scale more often. Nar on the other hand seemed to be more on edge. He still carried the terrible secret that he was a Firebender. He had fled the country was he was young. His mother had been closely connected to the royal family and would often talk to him of how wrong she though everything was. She was a traitor in secret. She even tried to sabotage attacks on the other nations in secret. One day, she was found out and taken away. That was the last time Nar had ever seen her. He then became a stow-away on a war ship. It was a dangerous move but he could no longer stay in the Fire Nation. After that, he wandered the Earth Kingdom for quite a time. Families along the way were nice enough to take him in for a time. But then he told them he must be moving on. One day while on his travels, he was attacked by a regime of Firebenders. They recognized him. Apparently he was a wanted man. They attacked and he, not being a master bender, could do little to defend himself. That’s how he received the scar. He was attempting to block a fire whip attack with a fire blast of his own but it was an unsuccessful attempt. The fire wrapped around his hand, becoming entangled around his fingers. With one hand gone, he could no longer fight. He fell to the ground, defeated. As he was about to be taken away, there was a great crash and the Firebenders disappeared around him. Looking up from clutching his injured hand, he saw that the ring of earth around him had sunken into the ground. Looking more he saw a man and a woman standing just outside the small canyon that had just been formed. The man's arms were out before him. He was obviously and Earthbender and the one who had saved him. Nar slowly got to his feet as the man created a path from the circle of earth where he stood to himself and his wife. Nar was uncertain about going to them but as the Firebenders below started to stir, he hurried quickly across the path and the three were gone by the time Nar’s attackers escaped the canyon. With the knowledge that he was now a wanted criminal, he could not safely travel anymore. Kano and Faun, the two who had rescued him, had not only agreed but insisted that he stay with them. He had later found out they had always wanted a son and he seemed a wonderful candidate. Even though he was now safe, he feared if the Fire Nation ever invaded the town, he might be found and would thus put Kano and Faun’s lives in danger. At the age of 14, he took up his Firebending again, remembering everything he could from his master and trying to expand upon it, creating his own attacks. He also made a promise to himself that when he was older, he would leave so he would remove any chance there was of his adoptive parents being killed. When Aear showed up and lost her jewelry, he saw this as the moment he had been waiting for. Now he would have a partner on his travels. Not just a partner but one who was a Waterbender. He would be in safe hands and not have to risk showing he was a Firebender to anyone. It had now been two weeks since the two had started traveling together. They spent long nights by the fire, telling stories about their pasts, getting to know each other very well. He learned that the necklace and bracelets had been a gift from her mother. She had made them herself by encasing water from the Spirit Oasis inside the glass. Her mother, being one of the best Waterbending masters, had been able to make the water freeze and un-freeze as Nar had noticed when he found them. To this day no one knows how she did it. When Aear asked Nar about his scar, he told her the truth. He of course left out the fact that he was a fugitive of the Fire Nation and made it seem as if the soldiers attacked him with no apparent reason. He regretted this because it only seemed to intensify her hatred of the Fire Nation. On a particularly hot day, they were just coming up on the Serpent’s Pass. The two were riding side by side, telling jokes and teasing each other in an affectionate way, when all of a sudden the serenity was shattered by a massive explosion not 10 feet in front of them. Orod reared and Nar fell to the ground. Aear held Terra steady, swinging her head around to see where and what the attack had come from. Below, Nar propped himself up on his elbows and glanced around as well. He wasn’t at all curious about what the blast had come from. All he cared about was where and who. He hoped with all his heart it was not the same bunch of Firebenders who had attacked him those years ago. As the smoke and dirt cleared, it unveiled Nar’s worst fear. There in front of them was, without a doubt, the same regime of Firebenders. Squawks came from Terra and Orod as the fidgeted around, scratching at the ground. Aear pulled her water skin from one of Terra’s saddle bags, uncorking it, ready to fight. Nar, while doing his best to keep his face hidden, got to his feet and took hold of Orod’s reins. A low, heartless laugh came from the leader. It started soft then grew in volume and malice, carrying over the still air. General Lhach was a hardened man. His black hair was sleekly pulled into a knot at the top of his head. Long side-burns lined his rough face and his dark eyes always seemed to be glaring. The laughter stopped suddenly and he nodded to his men. Feet scuttling across the ground, they formed a tight perimeter around Aear and Nar. Ready or not, the two were in for a fight.

[The~Quenchiest]

Lhach began to laugh once more as he walked forward towards Aear. “What’s this, little Miss Waterbender going to stop all of us? To bad you’re not a master.” he scoffed, looking around to his men as if giving them permission to laugh, which they did. Nar had also assumed Aear was not a master. He had seen the Fire Nations exterminations plans in action. Not one master bender had made it out alive. He had a terrible feeling that by the time this was over, he would have to firebend to save their lives. His face was still buried in Orod’s neck as he watched Aear sitting atop Terra, arm at the ready. On Nar’s left, a middle-aged soldier was furrowing his brow, trying to get a better look at Nar. “Oie!” he shouted suddenly. With a flick of his wrist, a strip of flame shot out and wrapped itself around Nar’s left forearm. He screamed as flesh burned and he was jerked away from Orod, falling to his knees, hold what would become yet another burn scar. Aear gasped, leapt off Terra and went to Nar’s side. “Are you alright?” she breathed in his ear. She rolled up his sleeve as she said this, breathing in sharply as she saw the gruesome sight. The flesh was burned away all the way to the muscle. It was bright red and seemed to crackle as if still on fire. Aear pulled a stream of water from her pouch and encompassed the burn with it. The water glowed white and the injury was now nothing more then a pink fleshy band. It would never fully heal. It had been too deep. Nar flexed his fingers, wincing as tiny shots of pain ran up his arm. Having been taken by surprise by the attack, neither of them had noticed General Lhach now a foot from them. In one swift motion, he bent over, grabbed Nar by the neck and hoisted him roughly to his feet. Aear quickly tried to release him but another soldier had come and grabbed her from behind, twisting her arm behind her back. Nar’s breathing was short and shallow as he struggled against Lhach’s grip. The general’s face was unsure at first but then a confident smile that he had found their prey spread across his face. “Well well well, if it isn’t Nar; escaped Nobleman of the Fire Nation.” he sneered. Beside them, Aear’s face wore a shocked look. White hot anger was boiling inside of Nar. “I’d rather die then bear that title.” he gasped, face reddening. Lhach snorted. “Then you are more foolish then I thought.” He cast Nar aside like a rag doll. He hit the ground face down, knocking the wind out of him. He lay there, coughing and gasping for air, writhing like a worm. Aear struggled against her captor, surprised that she still desired to help him; having heard what she never thought was possible. Lhach turned his vicious eyes onto Aear now. She held his gaze, not afraid of what could happen. He flashed a snooty smile at her, and then his eyes fell to her necklace. Just as Nar, he seemed dazed by it. Slowly, he lifted a gnarled hand and gently touched the cerulean amulet. Aear began to breathe short powerful breaths. The rage inside her was overwhelming, filling her up. “Perhaps I was wrong.” he mumbled silently. Their eyes met once more, both still flaring with hatred. He turned away, signaling his men to remove the perimeter. “Bind her hands and feet. We will be taking her for questioning.” he ordered briskly. The men obeyed and quickly carried out the orders. “What? No. No!” Aear cried as the Firebenders moved in around her with ropes. She kicked out and tried to free her arm but she was out numbered. “Nar!” she called, “Nar help!” But he was still on the ground, light-headed and arm still throbbing slightly. He responded as best he could to her cries, pushing himself to his feet and staggering towards her. Lhach was on him instantly, his hand once more around Nar’s neck. “I don’t know why the Fire Lord is so keen on capturing you. Perhaps it’s just so that he can wipe out the rest of your retched family. I am a man of honor and obedience but in this case I must follow my own gut. I think your life would be much better exterminated by those you seek refuge with.” he growled. “This girl,” he said, pointing to Aear who was now bound and gagged, hanging limp in a soldiers grip, “is the last person you will ever lie to.” He fell a second time to his hands and knees. The sound of feet on earth grew louder as the regime departed. He looked up to see two Firebenders dragging Aear towards a metal tank. Tears were in her eyes and a look of pure disappointment had taken over a face that he once saw filled with joy. It killed his insides to look at her any longer. He hung his head, tears now in his own eyes. There was the clang of metal on metal, a few commands shouted and then rumble of the tank faded, leaving Nar it utter silence. He did not move, did not sob but just knelt there. He took several deep breaths, attempting to steady himself. After all that had happened, all he had lost, there was only one thing he could do, only one thing he could whisper into the quiet, “I’m sorry.”