Chapter 24

Disclaimer: See Prologue and Chapter 1.

Air

Find Peace in the Storm

Simba's POV

1 moon later

As I lay there soaked in sweat and legs aching from exhaustion wandered. How the hell did I get into this mess? I looked up but couldn't see my mysterious new master that my dad had sent me to. Not only were his training methods a little…. boring. But I still haven't seen him yet, only heard his voice. I cleared my throat and shook off some of my exhaustion like twigs in my mane and looked around. "You know, this would be a bit easier if I COULD SEE YOU!" I snapped angrily and causing a mini earthquake thanks to my earthbending. The small cave filled with a few pools and maybe a pawful of lion and other creature statues finally stopped shaking as I calmed down.

A voice chuckled at my outburst. "Keep up that temper of yours and you'll never open your Earth chakra." He said in his usual deep voice. Yeah that's real helpful. I thought.

"You still haven't told me what an Earth chakra or even a chakra is!" I said clutching my head more than slightly annoyed. When he remained silent I thought maybe to ask. "Can I at least have a tiny hint? All you've had me doing is meditate the last two hours."

I heard the voice sigh and then felt light hit my eyes and as the slight brush of leaves covering this cave entrance was moved aside. I heard footsteps but still couldn't see him due to the burning feeling on my eyes.

"Catch." All of sudden I hear something whoosh from the air and then felt the cold surface collide with my skull.

"Yah! What the hell?! Did you just hit me with a rock?" I said growling at the entrance and stomped said rock into dust.

"I told you to catch it. You didn't."

"I couldn't see it because of the damn light."

"Doesn't matter. You didn't catch it when an Avatar should be able to use the elements in tandem to react."

"How can you possibly know so much about being the Avatar when the last one disappeared years ago?!"

"Listen to me and unlock your Earth chakra and that answer all others will be given to you." He said in a compromising tone that sounded like my mother. I snorted. With my luck mom sent Momo to help watch me.

Filled with aggravation I sat down in defeat but also curious of exactly how this guy could know so much, so I guess Ill play along, for now. "Fine." I said in my best mopey tone. "What do you need me to do?"

"To do you must first understand. A chakra is like a pool in a river's path. A collective of energy at different points in the body. Every chakra is blocked like the river in the gorge near Pride Rock."

"But if they're blocked, how do we use bending? And what do they have to do with the avatar state?"

"Patience. A virtue lost to you as both Prince and avatar. Every bender in the Pride Lands has access to their own elemental chakra from birth. Though there are times when control becomes an issue. This is a sign of the chakra being blocked. Like when you hurt your friend, Nala."

My face sunk as he mentioned that. "My firebending." I whispered hopefully low enough so he couldn't here. I burned her with my firebending. "Th-that was an accident."

"I'm sure it was. But that incident affected your firebending potential. You don't fire bend like you should be able to." Yeah way to rub it in.

"I'm working on it. I've got a lot going on."

I was thinking more write and edit as we go. Howdo you think Asante and us did the meta fiction?

"Only thing going on right now is you're not listening."

"Ughhh!" I groaned. "Fine fine. What do I do?"

"As I said chakra's are like concentrated pools of energy in the body that are connected like a river. There are a total of seven. The first is the earth chakra. It deals with survival but is blocked by fear. Tell me what are you afraid of?"

I raised an eyebrow. What? This some kind of hazing he does before lessons? "I'm a prince, and the avatar, I'm not afraid of anything." I said puffing my chest up until this time I saw another rock and ducked.

"Seems to me you're afraid of a little rock. So sad for the big bad Prince."

"But it's true! I'm not afraid!" I snapped angrily.

"Everyone young lion is afraid. If you weren't you'd be dead by now. Fear and pain are there for a purpose. Without fear, there can be no courage. Like when you tried to stand up to Zira."

I twitched as the memories rushed back. The hurricane caused by her laughter. The feeling of her claws. The sudden emptiness when I went into the avatar state after she burned Kopa. "That, that's really none of your business." I said while looking down at the cold stone floor. "That was a long time ago…. I'm over it now."

"If that were true, I'd be concerned. Your brother was hurt and you couldn't remember your own actions. You were terrified just like every fight you've been in since. From fighting Zira in the gorge to your most recent battle with the bird. Every time you faced the possibility of death." He paused and for a moment I thought I heard a sigh of some emotion I couldn't grasp. "Yet despite that, conquering that fear is not what opens the chakra. Those fears can be overcome, conquered. But true fear, is the kind you carry with you every day and struggle with every night. It is unique to each of us. Unless you figure out what your true fear is, you will not survive long my Prince."

Listening to his words, I kinda grasped what he was saying and started thinking back. I thought about seeing my brother's face after Zira burned it badly. The smell of his burnt fur and flesh still lingers in my memory. I remembered a shaking feeling. Not the shaking from earthbending but from when I hugged Nala after she beat the blood bender using blood bending. She was colder than the ice I've seen her sleep by, but she shook so bad, I thought she would shatter. More and more the memories of my battles and enemies came from the pain I felt from my bones being broken by practically being stepped on by Khara to the weakness I felt in the Air Pride. Thousands of times the pain and hurt circled my brain until I started seeing the same thing in each situation. The looks of fear, pain, betrayal, anguish. It hit me worse than my grandmother's spankings, but it made me now my head none the less.

As if sensing my self discovery, my invisible mentor spoke up again. "You've been quiet a while now. Perhaps you've thought of what I've said and have realized your fear. Care to share it?"

I sighed and breathed deep before looking up. "It's true what you've said. I've been in more dangerous fights in these past few years than most of the adults have been in in there whole lives. Yet what always scares me wasn't the pain, it was my friends being in danger and it made me see my problem. Years ago, I once said, I can't wait to be king. But the truth is I'm dreading the day that time comes." I shed a tear as the truth started passing through my muzzle. "Because I don't know if I'll do right by those I care about as either king or avatar. How can I? If I can't even beat my singular element based cousin Zira? How can I be a great warrior on my own if I always need help?"

"Simba, it is true every king before you and perhaps every king after you will face this same problem. But what makes a king great is not his ability to work alone. It is his ability to trust his pride and his ability to inspire trust in them. The avatar is no different, he needs to rely on others to master what he must master. You were born an airbender. But you had to learn from a water bender to make the river run smooth nearby. The avatar represents the best of all four bending styles. How can he do that, if he doesn't let them show him their best?"

His words flowed through my ears like a cool breeze and a sighed in slight relief and comfort though the worry was there and breathed out. "Thanks, I guess."

"think fast." I jerked up seeing the rock and raised my paws to shield my face and waited for the pain to come. How many minutes did I wait till I felt that nothing was coming? I slowly lowered my paws expecting a cheap shot to the face when I saw the stone casually floating in midair in front of me. "Whoa." I looked at my paws on shock. I heard footsteps next and saw the long vines blocking the cave entrances were moved aside and I stared in awe at the sight before me. A large lion, probably larger than my father was standing there. Along his body were multiple long scars on his sides, his legs and a large gash where his eye used to be. But what shocked me most was his fur. It was a color I had seen before. But never on a lion. It was the purest silver almost like Pride Rock color of the rock was cleaned constantly, surrounded by a mane that was as white as Kiliminjaro snow. His white cloud colored eye looked at me and while I was in shock, his eye seemed to calm me. "Wh-who are you?"

He looked at me and smiled. "I'm your master Simba. The Guru of the pride lands. My name is Kali."

Kali's POV

"So that means you are under my servitude. How come I have never seen you before or heard your name? Did you know the last Avatar as well?" He said with a smirk and a smile as bright as the moon.

I could see the Prince had thousands of questions but once again I had to remind him who had the grown mane in the den. "You'll get those answers when you get more than half a mane little boy." I countered staring him down with my one eye. I met his red fiery ones with my fierce white icy one.

"Okay so besides giving me a poetry lesson let's move on before your fur falls out".

"At least I have fur to lose." I said back. "But the next chakra we will focus on is the water chakra. Follow me." I stood up and walked deeper into the cave. "Unless his majesty would like to lead. Since he obviously knows where he is going." I said stretching out my paw in front of me.

"My grandmother once said it was the past generation's job to make sure we live long enough to be old and half bald like you so I'll let you take the lead. Well I may have paraphrased a little but you get the idea. Thanks for your help".

Cheeky little punk. I snorted and walked ahead and then looked back at him. "Afraid of the dark my Prince? We can't progress unless you're able to follow me to our destination."

"No need, I am still a firebender." Simba responded as he breathed light around us. Only for it to go out immediately.

I chuckled. "Sorry thought you knew, you can only use the elements whose chakras you've opened in this cave. Helps to keep your avatar form in check. Sorry. No light for you."

"Perfect' He said sarcastically before walking deeper.

I walked further along ahead of the boy, my eye more accustomed to the dark of the cave from the years I lived here. I noticed as I looked back that he kept falling behind from either tripping over rocks or hitting some with his head. "Troubles my liege?"

"Just keep moving so we can get out of here"."

"While we walk, why don't I explain the water chakra. As you can probably guess, it controls your water bending and is guided by emotions like the other chakra's. But which emotion guides it and which blocks it. The answer lies in what water is to most. When a cub jumps into a waterhole and splashes about for the first time, what do you think is going through the cub's mind?"

"This is more fun than a bath from Mom?" He said half listening, his focus clearly trying to break through the vines he was entangled in.

"That's probably what you would think. But I was thinking more of the idea that he would say it's fun, it's cool. Joy, happiness pleasure. These are what every cub feels for even the slightest excitement. Pleasure is what opens the gate to water."

"More when I think of Nala. But how does that help me unlock water?"

"If you would not interrupt. I'd tell you. Like when one bends water, one must reach out with their emotions to make it move. Pleasure and fun makes it easy but what blocks it like a dam is like what makes a water bender seem more like they are drowning rather than swimming in the pool that governs their power.. It's what happens when sadness, pain and despair enter the heart and weaken it. But the underlying feeling that fuels them all, is guilt. Guilt is like a shroud over one's heart that can spread to your bending. It's like this cave, I can see fine because I've learned to see past my guilt and look forward. You on the other paw, are always looking back." I said as he hit his head after looking over his shoulder.

"So it's time for confession?"

"Maybe. Do you feel like you need to confess?"

"I can't see cause it's dark down here. Not cause I'm guilty about anything."

"Really? Then what about the times you lost control?" I could hear the growl and knew I struck a nerve. Not that I cared. He needs a push.

"That's private. That wasn't my fault."

"Then why get so angry about it? It's not your fault so it shouldn't matter."

"I would've figured it out eventually. I always did before."

"Yeah you always learned your elements so well that when it was done you stopped practicing. Is that how you would've approached your avatar state?"

"Hey I'm the best bender there is. I have lots of lessons to learn. I can't practice always. Besides I still remember how to bend."

"Yet because you hadn't been more thorough your friends almost got hurt when you fought Zira a second time." I pointed out and watched him freeze as he got out of the vines. "When you were in that state, they yelled and screamed trying to get your attention yet you couldn't hear them and hurt them trying to push them away. That frozen look on your face Simba. Is guilt."

"So what do I do? To fix it?"

"You remind yourself, of what you have to do to make things right. To work hard and not just skim by. Clouds might float without trouble but the river only flows when the dam you built comes down. Find the peace in your heart Simba. I watched him close his eyes and when he opened them he looked surprised as we had arrived at a waterfall. "Don't let your guilt bar your path anymore. Fight for those smiling faces you shared with your friends."

Simba shook for a bit before he walked forward and swiped his forepaws upwards opening the path to a well lit part of the cave. I walked through when he followed and saw his look of awe. "Beautiful."

We had arrived at a small oasis within this cave filled with lush grass and pools filled with clean water that came from the flowing waterfall we had passed through. "You opened your water chakra Simba. But your tests are not done. Earth helps you find your place to stand. Water helps you find the direction you want to go. But you're still not ready to run forward into your future." I walked forward a bit toward the oasis. "But you will be. That is if you have the fire in you to do so." I smirked challenging him.

Sorry again for the delay my devoted readers. I had many physical and familial issues to attend to. Hope you enjoyed