Playing Waterbending (Avatar: Last Aibender SI)

Shaw, a commander from the Fire Nation, was invited to an occupied village that housed a prison for Earthbenders.

The warden had invited him to discuss the recent capture of an Earthbender, who had managed to stay under their radar for his entire 18 years of life.

Shaw, a black-haired, golden-eyed middle-aged man, stared at the man in his forties. Around him were two guards with masks covering their faces. The reason for the masks was simple: to avoid being attacked by the families of the imprisoned Earthbenders.

"So… how have you been, my old friend?" said the warden.

"Old friend, my ass," replied Shaw, to the warden he had served under years ago. "I'm young enough to be your grandson."

He grumbled, "My son is only 16 years old."

Shaw smiled. "And you're still as moody as always."

"What can I say? Running a prison and raising a family can be mentally tough. Considering the recent events of finding a new Earthbender and holding a survivor from the South Pole, I must say that I'm going to have my hair turning gray soon."

"But your hair is already gray," deadpanned the commander.

"Guess time passes quickly," frowned the warden.

"Anyways, why did you invite me for the execution?" Shaw said. "I understand you want to get an achievement and have a witness, but I didn't have to be here for that, did I?"

"That's only part of my plan," the warden smirked. "Since there are Earthbenders hiding, I'm planning to make an announcement after the execution. Those who don't turn themselves in will have their families executed. After that, I'm planning to execute the man's mother and father."

"Isn't that too harsh?" said the commander.

Prison wardens, in general, were known for their sadistic personalities and merciless hearts. But even to Shaw, that level of cruelty seemed extreme.

Yet, it didn't seem unnecessary, as it would help get rid of potential enemies who could mass-kill their soldiers.

On the other hand, Shaw didn't like it for a reason. He had a suspicion that the warden was doing this because he was frustrated about not getting promoted.

"What's there to consider?" the warden waved his hand. "Is it better to see our men being ambushed by Earthbenders? We would announce a search, and those who turn themselves in before the search would have their lives and their families spared. Even if they don't turn themselves in, their families will."

"I can see it happening. Even if the prisoners have hidden their relatives' bending, they'd snitch on them. Such a tactic would save more lives than killing them."

"This brings me to my second point," said the warden. "Your older brother, Kao, was sent not long ago to search for a waterbender in the South Pole."

"I told him it would be a waste of time and not to trust the natives who suffer from the cold," scoffed Shaw.

"Anyways," said the warden, "one of his men managed to return alone, suffering from frostbite. We tried to get answers from him, and he woke up this morning after surgery. But he suffered trauma and couldn't speak properly."

Shaw remained calm. "And my brother, what happened to him?"

He still had his family to worry about.

"We don't know. After his man woke up, he cried and said that everyone was dead, and that they faced a monster. Do you think a waterbender did that to them?"

"Probably," said Shaw. "But even then, it doesn't make sense. It would if there were many waterbenders. But the last waterbender in the South Pole was killed a long time ago. And those who were capable of fighting joined the rebellion. A single waterbender or two wouldn't do anything against a full warship. Unless..."

It didn't make sense for a waterbender to do all of that. The Firebenders had been fighting against waterbenders for a long time and had developed strategies to counter them. Against the North Pole, they had consistently fought without suffering many losses. Even in a naval battle, they knew how to capture a waterbender.

Getting trapped in isolated land, with their anchor frozen, food disappearing, and engines ruined, plus starving for a few days, wasn't something they knew could happen, and they needed to prepare for it.

"Unless that waterbender is the Avatar. It's still a possibility. I wouldn't trust the words of a soldier who was the sole survivor, so I'm going to assume that waterbender is the Avatar," said the warden. "It would make sense why one person could take down a whole trained unit."

"This is the reason you invited me, then? To avenge my brother and take part in finding the Avatar?"

"What can I say? For a man my age, getting chances for achievements isn't something I can hope for frequently," he said.

"So, about my older brother," Shaw asked.

"He's probably about to die," the warden said. "I've invited you so we could have more manpower when traveling to the South."

"The schedule?" asked the commander.

"After the execution, by a day," he replied.

"That waterbender," Shaw looked out the window, his emotions as calm as the surface of a lake on a windless night. "Can he truly be the Avatar?"

"The last Avatar was supposed to be born as an airbender. He may have lived a long life hiding like a coward and died peacefully," said the warden. "The highest probability is that he's a waterbender in this life."

"We'll find out."

-x-X-x-

The man they were discussing wasn't that concerned about the world.

It was night, and Ryuk cursed himself for taking on a daring challenge.

Around his back were six tentacles, moving between the tree branches and pulling his weight.

On the ground, there was a blue-black figure, 20 meters long.

Ryuk summoned a water barrel from thin air, smashed it with a water tentacle that had its end in the shape of a mace, and forced the water to pour onto the giant creature's back.

The water froze, but the ice broke instantly. The creature raised its head five meters into the air and jumped after Ryuk, who turned the water tentacles into a water barrier that he froze. The barrier flew away with Ryuk, smashing a tree before turning back into water.

"Okay," Ryuk said. "I was trying to avoid doing this. But you gave me no choice."