Chapter 105: Chapter 108
High above the village, among the countless clouds in the sky, Dragon sat and meditated. He was replaying the fight he had with Connor over and over again in his mind. He looked over every hand movement and facial expressions.
He had gotten so little success in earth bending that he thought to master water first. It was closer to air bending in nature, and how the benders moved and practised it. So it was no wonder that it felt more natural to him than earth bending.
He had become an air bender in body and spirit, but he was interested in what changes would take place when he mastered all the elements. All elements and the ones practising them. They were different from each other.
Fire benders were loud, social and strong-willed. Air benders were calm, more seclusive and not as driven by will or desire as the other benders were.
There was a mindset to master for each element. And that was the hardest part for most avatars. Growing up calm but forced to act aggressive or vice versa. It doesn't sound difficult but it is one of the biggest obstacles for an avatar. And now the same for Dragon, just on a smaller scale since he wasn't born into this world.
Dragon had a cup of water in one hand and with the other hand, he practised simple movements he had seen Connor do. He wouldn't reveal to just anyone what he could do. He wouldn't care if people found out because his flight ability made it impossible for people to locate him anyways.
He remembered how he felt when he first arrived on his mountain. How the wind spoke to him, and how he could feel it like it was a living organism. He managed to do it with earth to an extent. And now he tried to do the same with the water in his cup.
He put the tip of his finger inside the water and tried to spiritually connect with the small amount he had here. Ones he could do that, he could start with mimicking the training movements Connor showed Cassie, the only other water bender in the village.
"KAA!" Suddenly a giant eagle came flying passed and circled overhead. Orlando brought with him a gust of wind that knocked Dragon a little off balance.
"HEY! What have I told you about surprise visits when I am meditating. Not allowed!" Dragon looked at Orlando that hovered in front of him.
"KAA!"
"Connor sent you?" Dragon showed surprise now and he sighed loudly and realized that his alone time was over.
"KAA!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Take me down to the village." Dragon flew over and landed on his back. He laid down and closed his eyes and allowed the winds to stroke his body as they passed by him.
"KAA!" Orlando responded with a scream and began his smooth descent down towards the village.
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A giant eagle with the wingspan of close to thirty meters had become quite the regular sight in the village. Orlando rarely stayed within the village because of his massive size, but every time Dragon was visiting, he would rest outside the village.
Being so large made him very distinguished in this part of this world. Connor was the only person in this village that had travelled out into the world before settling here. But the rest of the village members had never seen a creature as large as Orlando before.
Orlando with Dragon on his back approached the village. And their appearance didn't set off any alarms within the village anymore. With Connor's own seal of approval, Orlando was allowed to fly and walk within the grounds of the village.
Thanks to all the loose snow on the ground, Orlando caused a mini snowstorm when he approached. He touched the ground outside of the village and Dragon jumped off and gracefully landed on the ground.
"Grand Master Dragon." Cassie came running out of the opening in the wall that served as the gates in and out of the village. She had an excited smile on her lips that came forth every time Dragon visited.
"Cassie, how are you doing today?" Dragon said and bowed to the little girl with a smile on her face.
"I'm excellent!" She said and performed a proper bow that you would expect from young nobles. But because Cassie had only started using this when Dragon arrived, she wasn't too good at it so she almost lost balance and fell down while bowing.
"oh, careful there." Dragon reached out his hand and caught Cassie by her hand before she fell over from tripping over her own foot.
"So what brings you here today?" She found her footing again but with her face a little more red the before. She placed her hands behind her back and swayed back and forth to try and look as adorable as possible.
"Orlando here came to fetch me. Apparently, your father had something to talk to me about. How about you be my guide and take me to him." Dragon wasn't the most brilliant man in the world, but he wasn't oblivious either. He knew the girl had a crush on him and he had no idea when it happened.
"Absolutely! You can count on me!" Cassie said and started guiding Dragon, but not before waving to Orlando. She and her two siblings much like Aang was very fascinated with Orlando.
Every time he came here, he would try and play it down as much as possible. He knew these kinds of things was nothing serious, the girl was probably in love with an idea or a concept, rather than a person.
He felt it was similar to how a student might fancy the teacher. And in some cases he had encountered in both his lifetimes, the student would sometimes be in love with the concept of love and not the actual teacher of the class.
But Dragon was far from the ideal romantic, so he had no idea how serious this childish crush was. He absolutely didn't wanna lead this girl on in any way. But she became a reminder of how much Dragon wanted a daughter. Someone he could spoil to no end and read stories to at night.
"How is your water bending coming along?" He asked while looking at the girl sashaying through the village with a smile on her face.
"Could be better. It's weird, but every time I water to bend it feels like something is holding me back. I don't understand it and dad have to be all cryptic so I don't understand a word he says." She stopped her walk of confidence and stopped just to sigh out loud.
"He says it's all about control, but I have control. I want the water to move right, then it moves right! So I don't get what the problem is."
"hm, you know what I discovered during my time practising bending?" Dragon saw Cassie turn around with the pleading for help look in her eyes.
"If it's gonna help me water bend than please tell me," She said and looked at him with the helplessness she had built up inside.
"When I first started air bending. I sought to air bend for the sake of air bending. I sought to control for the sake of control. I sought to control everything when all I needed was to surrender myself to the idea, that control doesn't have to be controlled. When you find the thing that guides you, control will appear in the shape it's supposed to be in."
Dragon was explaining with a smile, but the girl's look of frustration only grew more intense the more he talked.
"Is it a requirement for Grand Masters to be so damn cryptic?" Just tell me what the problem is!" Cassie lashed out and fell backwards on her back and landed on the snowy ground.
"I don't see it as being cryptic, it's more like helpful guidance." Dragon waved his finger and the wind picked up Cassie and placed her on her feet. She was still wearing that sour face.
"How can it be helpful when I don't understand any of it?" ,
"Bending exists in a way that it can't really be taught to someone. Yes, I and your father could tell you how to move your arms. But that isn't what makes you a good bender. If control over water isn't the problem, then what is? Could it be in here?"
Dragon lightly tapped Cassie's forehead and gave her a knowing smile. Like he had her issues already figured out.
"Bending is more than just moving an element. I can't wait until you figure that out, Cassie.
"And think about it, maybe your descendants will be benders. How are you going to guide them down the right path if you don't even know what path that is for yourself?" Dragon stood back up and smiled. Cassie touched her forehead and she looked to be back to her usual happy self.
"I'll show you the rest of the way!" She said and sprung into action. She ran away and left Dragon standing there.
'Become one with your element. Water benders become gentle. Air benders achieve freedom. I can't wait to see what sort of bender she chooses to become.' Dragon started walking while thinking of the woman she would grow up to be.
All Grand Masters had taken their own route towards achieving mastery. But in the end, they all always come to the same conclusion. Adopt the personality of your element to achieve mastery.
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End
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