New generation benders

Herkio didn't even notice that they placed a sleeping mat under him, or placed the blanket over him. He grabbed the blanket though and dragged it up to his chin in his sleep. He was still a bit cold. It was really weird. He was rarerly cold since he was so used to it from the south pole. But he wasn' feeling well, he wasn't sick but he needed the rest. And he needed Ikal to train him so he could have controll over his own bending again. He didn't wanna hurt anyone again.
He slept peacefully the whole night, his body was restoring under the night, gaining energy again, repearing itself. So when he woke up in the morning, he felt a lot better, both in his body and mind. He looked around him, it seemed that everyone was asleep yet, he couldn' see Ikal's face so he didn't know that he was awake. He quietly got up and walked over to the river and sunk down on his knees and looked at himself in the reflection. He looked pretty okay now when he wasn't so tired.

Herkio washed himself a bit and after that he started to bend a little to pass the time while the others where sleeping, and think. So much had happend the last weeks, the last days. Who knew what was going to happen today? Anything could happen. They could all die. And under these few days he had gotten closer to Ela, he liked her so much. Maybe he should tell her that before something actually happend?
He walked over to where she was sleeping, kneeling down beside her. "Ela" he whispered and gently shook her until she was awake. He smiled faintly at her. "I'm sorry to wake you up. But before this day starts, and we get in trouble I wanna...". He stopped himself and bit his lip. "Well...I really like you and...". He took a deep breath before he leaned down and quickly kissed her. After that he got up, tomato red. Hopefully he hadn't made something stupid.

Ela was sleeping pretty soundly, she was unusually peaceful and the spirit wasn't harassing her as usual. In fact she was dreaming about her mother, this resulted in her dreaming about her being back home. She was running around with her friends, playing around with animals and heard horrible stories about the earth kingdom and all bunch of stuff. It was fun and if she had been aware of it all she wouldn't have wanted to go back.
"Hey! Ela! Be careful, little one." Her mother called and little Ela turned around and ran into her mothers arms. Her mother ran her slender fingers through her childs hair and Ela looked up on her mother with a large smile. "I love you, sweetheart. Remember that, okay?" Ela got confused as the atmosphere changed. "I love you, Ela." Her mother kissed Elas forehead before Ela was shaken awake.

Ela blinked a little before meeting the gaze of Herkio... it was a little confusing, what's going on? Are they in danger or something? She sat up and looked around, it didn't seem like it. Ela started listening properly around:
"-starts, and we get in trouble I wanna..." She half-absently rubbed one of her eyes and let her hand fall in the pause. She was about to ask what he wanted when he spoke again. "Well... I really like you and..." He leaned in and Ela was still processing. Ela got kind of red because he came so close and before she knew it he kissed her. It caused her to go completely red but buried her face in her mothers blanket when it was... finished.
"Adorable." Ikal suddenly sighed behind them. "Now I owe Akane money, god damn it." He continued and sighed once again. This caused Ela to bury her face deeper in the blanket, it meant that everyone else knew expect her. She just wanted to calm her heart down. It was going to jump out of her chest at this rate. Ikal walked off towards the water.
"I... uh... I like you too." Ela mumbled and hid her face behind her hair and she was pretty much talking inside the blanket.

Herkio almost regretted it, but at the same time he was so happy that he had done it. If something happend, he had atleast done that. He had told her that he liked her. Really liked. He didn't wanna say love, because love was a heavy word. Like was much better. It was easier to say and easier to feel. It didn't give any promises or other such thing, but it gave hope. And that was all he wanted for the moment. He smiled when he saw her hide in her blanket. She was adorable. As Ikal said. He turned around a bit so he could see him. He was just about to say something when he heard Ela mumble.
"Really?" he said happily and got down on his knees again and hugged her close to his chest for some seconds before he quickly let her go. "Sorry, I don't wanna hurt you again" he mumbled and stood up again. He needed to controll himself before he would touch anyone.

Herkio turned to Ikal and walked over to him. "Please, can you teach me now? Or help me? Or something? I don't wanna go around and give people bruises" he said. He was much calmer than yesterday, today he could actually learn something. He stood still, waiting for Ikal's answer. He had a faint, stupid smile on his lips, kissing Ela had been amazing.

"You're giving people bruises because you're always bending." Ikal replied and sighed when he saw the smile. The innocence was brilliant. Ikal didn't want to be the one ruining it. "I spent... time in isolation when it happened to me." Ikal changed his mind mid-sentence about whether or not he should say anything about the length of time. Ikal just remembered getting food from his father. "It doesn't happen to everyone either, only those who has no clue what the hell they are doing, those who try to bend over their abilities or those who misuse it. There are penalties, some are worse than others. Bruises are better than open wounds." Ikal said and shrugged a little. Just like he didn't care, but he'd only done wounds on himself. "So that's an option, not that I'd recommend it. The other bad option is to never touch anyone ever again and the best learn to know when you're bending. Which is trickier when it's inside someones body, which is why some bloodbenders... extract it." Ikal had seen horrid things. "You have to feel it, the side effect is that you'll probably feel others blood too." He continued, he didn't really know how to describe it properly.

"Aaand... I'm throwing up." Ela jumped slightly when her spirit popped up and was sitting next to her. "Also since you're actually listening to me I need a favor!" Ela shook her head slightly.
"No? Why not?" The spirit laid on her lap. "You don't want his spirit gone?" She nodded towards Herkio and placed her hand over Elas eyes. Therefore giving Ela a horrid mess of lights and colors instead of actual sight. She rose up, leaving her things and walking of towards the forest. The spirit walking after her. Ela didn't trust her, but she hated to admit that she was curious.

Herkio nodded, not saying until, just listening, he needed to learn, he didn't wanna hurt people, hurt Ela. He wanted to hurt her the least, he liked her so much. But even if he was a bit sad that he was hurting people, he still couldn't help feeling happy that she liked him as well. She hadn't yelled at him for kissing her atleast. He shook his head slightly to concentrate on Ikal. Had he been isolated? But where could Herkio be isolated? He would do it if it was the way to solve this problem. But he was a bit relieved that it wasn't the only way. He just had to control his bending more, feel it better. "Okay" he nodded and walked over to the shore again, no one noticed that Ela left. He sat down by the water and slowly started bending it, just making waves to feel the bending. It was always a special feeling to bend, he could feel his energy flow through him and out in the water and then back again. He had been really tired the last days, so he hadn't thought about that he sometimes felt rushed of energy through him, he had just thought that it was him getting a little bost of energy from swimming or eating.

He continued to bend for a while, to really take it in before he stopped, and he could still feel the energy flow in and out of him, still bending, searching for something to bend. He sighed deeply, this would be hard to control. "Are there any other tips? I mean, did you just teach yourself to not hurt people?". He looked up at Ikal. He just wanted to be normal again, he hated the bloodbending so much. He still thought it was horrible. He wouldn't touch anyone until he could control it, he didn't wanna hurt anyone or anything.

"I did, that's the simple explanation. I taught myself not to hurt people. However the more or less complicated version was that I learnt how to gain complete and utter control over every small bit of energy that left my body, I needed full control over the very fuel of the bending." Ikal said and paused to think for a little moment. "Also, believe me the answer isn't in hating it. I never did but as any more or less classic waterbender I did doubt it." Ikal went further out in the water, deciding it was a good course of action. "I guess I'm no classic bloodbender either though, most use it to hurt others or anything like that. I use it to heal and defend mostly. Whenever I hurt people I feel sick." He said as he toyed with the water a little.

Ela thought that they walked for ages, they didn't but the spirit refused to tell Ela where they were going, what they were doing... until she finally stopped. They were by some spring... it was calm... soothing. If Ela was interested she would've found this place to be perfect for meditation. Ela gulped slightly.
"Please, sit." The spirit said... or rather she commanded. She just clouded it in nicer words. "Take my hands." The spirit sat down in front of Ela who had followed the spirits commands.
"Why?" Ela asked and the spirit sneered at her.
"You're suddenly doubting me? You followed me here, sat down by this lovely spring and now when your supposed to take my hands you act up?" The spirit asked... almost angrily. Ela refused to bring her hands forward. "I'm helping you, you lovesick fool." She said and the anger could be both heard and seen. "But allright then, let's do it the hard way." The spirit sat up and reached over to cover Elas eyes. Effectively clouding her vision with colors, lights, pain... what was going on? "I'll force you over there if I have to, do you realize that? That avatar is nothing compared to his ancestors, he might be able to see spirits but he's basically handicapped. You have to help him you stubborn brat." Ela couldn't take it and the spirit forced a blackout. Ela re-opened her eyes in the spiritworld... of course she did.

Herkio got quiet for a while. He guessed that was the whole thing, just to train until he wasn't hurting anyone. He sighed deeply, he knew this would be hard and not touching anyone until he controlled it would be hard as well. But he was determined to do it. He wanted to be able to touch Ela without hurting her. When Ikal then mentioned not hating it would help as well Herkio was still quiet. He hated it so much, and himself for being able to bloodbend, and because he had used it. How would he be able to not hate it? He had been thought his whole life how wrong it was and now he was doing it...What would his parents say if they saw him now? They would be so disappointed in him, all of them where good waterbenders but no one had used bloodbending, as far as he knew.

"Okay" he finally just said and took of his shoes before getting in the water. It was easier to be a part of the water and the motion then, he would try to use the energy in the waves, to controll him self. He started making small waves, to just practice. He closed his eyes and tried to control his energy, let it flow at the direction he wanted. But soon he managed to bend some water right at Ikal instead. "Sorry!" Herkio said and sighed, frustrated. He really hated this. "But I guess you're already wet so..." he then mumbled to Ikal and then continued to practice again. He didn't know for how long he was in the water, feeling the waves rush pass him, feeling the energy flow through him.

After what felt like hours he finally got up and laid down at the ground, exhausted. He had been a little bit better at controling himself, but he still had much to be able to control. He sighed and brushed his wet hair away from his face before he sat up again, watching what the others where doing. "Hey, where is Ela?" he suddenly wondered since he couldn't see her.

"Bipin went off to look for her a little while ago..." Hye said and looked around slightly, as if she would see him just somewhere. "He said she took off into the woods." Hye continued and Ryuu who had been gathering some food came around.
"I can go looking unless you'd like a break. You've been at it for hours." He said and snotty Pema drooled down in the water, she was drinking but it looked so bizarre since she drooled more than she drank.
"Maybe she went off to meditate?" Hye suggested and Ikal looked up from the water, he didn't really know what to think about that. Meditation... Ela hated it, she didn't when she was younger but nowadays... Ikal walked up on the shore and bent the wather out from his clothes.
"You should get going soon anyway, so it's better if we just find them." Ikal said and started walking towards the woods.

Bipin had found Ela, lying by some pond and he couldn't get any kind of contact with her whatsoever. She was ice cold, she had been lying on the ground for quite some time. What was she doing? Bipin had seen the spirits gathering around and on her, he didn't know what to do about them. Maybe she... was meditating? Bipin was never really good with the spirit world. Bipin decided to try anyway, sitting down properly, putting his hands together and trying to concentrate.

Ela was hiding out by the trees, spirits were everywhere and she was looking for her again. Calling her name out accompanied by namecalling. Ela was in child form, her hair curly and bushy, tears running down her face and her heart beating like mad. She doesn't want to be her, she wants to go back and wake up again.

Herkio looked a bit worried. Where both of them gone? He looked around, he couldn't see Bipin either. He sighed slightly. Great. This was the last his nerves where needing right now, two gone from the group. And one of them the person that for the moment meant the most to him. He sighed and stood up.
Every nerve in his body just wanted to lay down and rest but he couldn't do that right now. "I'll go and look..." he just said. He had really been training for hours, but he would still look for her. He just hoped she wasn't in any trouble, that would be the worst possible scenario right now.

He got up and twisted a bit, making some of the water in his hair and clothes fly away. "I go south" he informed. Just straight forward, they had to spread out if they wanted to find her and Bipin quickly. He continued to walk for a while, not getting any results as he suddenly got to an open area, with a pond. And beside that pond laid two person, Bipin and Ela. "Ela!" he shouted, running towards them. He got to them and did his best to wake them up without touching them, he was too afraid of hurting them. "Dammit! Ela, Bipin, wake up!". Soon he was forced to touch them. Carefully he touched her cheek, he didn't hurt her, but instead something happpend to him. It was like he was flying, he felt like he was floating.

A bright light apeared and the next time he could see it was something he'd never seen before. "What...what is this?". His voice sounded weird, light. He looked down at himself and stared into his reflection in a puddle of water. He looked like he did when he was younger, still that messy brown hair, but more child like features. "What has happend to me?!" he said panicked and looked up. "Ela! Ela!" he shouted.

Ela would've heard the shouting unless it transformed as it traveled. Turning into voices of people she didn't want to hear, the spirit world belittling her with every motion. Spirits moving around like carnivores waiting to murder her. She just kept still, trying to let them pass, trying to wake up.
"Where are you!? I know you're a little child! I'm coming for you, you hear me!? I'm in control!" The spirit screamt and Ela just shrinked as much as she possibly could. She didn't want to be found, she doesn't know what's going to happen but she's scared.

Bipin opened his eyes in the midst of a field, brilliant colors everywhere. Pink, purple... wow... he rose from the field and looked over to his right and saw a woman. Brown hair, dressed in white and she sat there drinking tea with... was that? Bipin stumbled to his feet and fell over again. He realized he was smaller, when he was a child he looked like this. He had read about this, it happened to Korra too. She was small... and she met dead people. Bipin just had the luck to actually meet... her. She sat with the woman who slowly turned her head and waved him over.
"Welcome Bipin." Korra said as he stumbled closer. The woman gave him tea and he climbed up on the high chair.
"I should've guessed my daughter would run off and befriend the avatar, your other friend should come along soon too. Don't you think?" The woman said and Bipin didn't understand who she was talking about. But the woman merely patted him on the head with a smile.