The morning brought the two girls into a relaxing day. There would be no practicing, no rules, and no Avatar training. Nyla needed a break from being poked, prodded, and questioned by everyone on the island. Harmony was happy to have her best friend by her side again, but was still just as skeptical as the first moment they arrived. She needed to leave and make use of herself to the children back home. "Har? You doin' ok?"
Nyla's voice brought her back to reality. "Huh? Yeah, I'm good. I just.. wanna get outta here. Why do they still need us here?"
"I think they just wanna be sure I'm the one, you know? They've been searching for decades and think I could be it."
"I get that and I'm happy for you, but we've got priorities and staying here is gonna make it worse for the people back home. Doesn't 2 weeks seem a little excessive to you?"
"I get it, it's overwhelming. Don't you think I wanna get back, too?"
"I.. Sorry. I didn't really consider how you were feeling about this. How do you feel?"
Nyla laughed nervously. "I don't know if I'm being honest. I think if I am who they say, life will be so much easier for the kids. I want them to be helped and, being the one, I could make them getting a better life easier. In any case, the skills I'm learning now will definitely help in our little 'thief escapades'."
Harmony laughed, releasing a sigh. "Alright, I can fall back on that. Patience is a virtue, huh?"
"And a difficult one for you to master, but we'll leave soon. I promise life will go back to normal."
They walked along a small path of gravel, silence loomed over them as Harmony felt a tense moment between the two. "What if the Avatar isn't even a thing anymore?" She stood back for a minute. "What if it's not you?"
"I have hope the Avatar is alive again. It might not be me, but I think they are out there right now helping someone they care about." She smiled and put an arm around her friend. "Come on, I wanna show you something." She took Harmony's hand, creating a rock underneath them to race towards a huge arena. "Let me show you what Master Bolin is teaching me."
Harmony took to the stands and watched patiently as another man came into the picture. "Just call me Bolin. I don't need a title." He laughed and made his way to his pupil.
"You're my teacher! I gotta call you somethin'."
"Since you're here, let's train a bit. Enough relaxing for one day." They both bowed to each other and took a stance. Harmony watched as rocks flew to the other. She wasn't nervous for her friend knowing she could take Bolin on in a match.
The match lasted a while, but the two got tired and retreated to the other side of the stadium to talk about forms and important battle strategies. Footsteps approached Harmony and she saw white outlined figures in front of her. "Having fun?" The images disappeared as quickly as they came.
She threw her attention on the object that spoke to her. "Oh! Mako, it's just you."
"Just me? I'm crushed. You make me sound like a low standard. Liking the little practice?"
"Kinda. The moves look a little easy." She moved her glance on a little pebble by her side. "What if I just..."
Mako watched her with hilarity. This girl wasn't gonna be able to move that rock, was she?
The rock nudged a bit and surprise washed over her. Come on, Har. You got this. The pebble started to float in the air. "Holy sh--"
"What the hell!? Harmony you're a--"
"Don't say anything!" She clasped her hands over his mouth. "Please don't tell anyone about this."
He grabbed her wrists, pulling them away from his mouth. "What is wrong with you? We gotta tell someone. What if you're.. you know."
"No, I can't be. Nyla would be a better one than me. She's selfless, considerate, and kind. She needs to be the Avatar. This could mean nothing."
"Harmony, you know as well as I do that this could change everything!"
He was right; this would be for the whole world. The title isn't something anyone would take so lightly. "Just promise me you won't tell anyone. Please, Mako."
He lowered his head in shame. "I can't promise that it won't get out somehow, but I won't say anything." He stood up. "You have to tell someone at some point though." He left her to think in the arena and Harmony sat there in disbelief. Her life would never be the same again. What if she was just an exception to the bending rules? Was dual bending a real thing? Something was wrong and she felt her whole body shake. She needed some air.
Her feet kept her running as far as her mind did. Harmony wanted to find a secluded area away from the world. Her vision started to fail as she neared a cliff. Her body collapsed on the floor close to the edge. Why was this happening to her? What was her place in this world? So many questions flooded her mind with empty answers and illogical explanations. Nothing seemed to help her. More figures of light circled her. "What's going on!? Why is this happening to me.. I can't be it. There's been a mistake.." Her eyes felt so heavy with water that she couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears she kept inside finally found their release. She hated feeling helpless and small; crying made her feel weak. Life had finally taken its toll on her and she needed to let it out with no one there to save her.
After a few minutes, Harmony relaxed herself and calmed her breathing. Her eyes made their way to the edge of the cliff, staring off with sadness. Nyla caught up to her finally. "I thought you'd run off. Talk to me, Har." She couldn't speak. As much as she tried, words couldn't take shape or make their way out to Nyla. "If you're not gonna talk, I'm not gonna leave. Sun's setting anyways and I wanna take you back to your room."
"Not yet. Let's stay here for a minute.. Please?"
Nyla's arms wrapped around her best friend. "Anything for you, punk. You're lucky I'm forgiving you for bailing on my practice." She laughed, making Harmony feel more at ease. Eventually, they both retreated to Harmony's place. Nyla hugged her and smiled. "I got practice tomorrow. so be up early for making me walk you all the way back here."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world. Goodnight, Ny."
"Sleep tight and don't scream so much. I get tired too, nerd." She laughed and Harmony punched her arm playfully.
"Shut up. You love me."
"Whatever makes you sleep at night."
"Dork."
"Water freak."
"Boulder head. Go to bed!" Harmony pushed her friend out of the room and laughed.
"It hurts you wanna get rid of me." Nyla put a hand to her heart. "Wanna heal me up with your magical ocean powers?"
"I'd rather you get punched with a metal fist, you jerk."
"Fine! I'll get outta your hair." They laughed as Nyla finally left, going to her own space.
Harmony completely forgot about the day's pain. She had felt so much better after talking to Nyla. She just needed a way to tell her that the Avatar wasn't her.. She had a lot of work to do in the morning.