Tanu and His Master: Training (need someone to be Tanu's master!)

HELP!!!!! I NEED SOMEONE TO BE TANU'S MASTER!!!! Oh, and Tanu is being taught waterbending, for your infomation.

Tanu sat, bored, on the ice in front of his master's two story dwelling. It was made completely of ice and packed snow, the building's surfaces engraved with many intricate designs and patterns. From the top extended a metal flagpole from which sprouted a beautiful banner with the Southern Water Tribe's insignia upon it. Tanu did not notice this, however, for he was facing away from the house, towards the very near shore. He sat cross-legged, as he had been told to do, with his eyes closed while he breathed deeply, in and out, in and out. He had been told by his master to sit in that position and listen to the ocean, as a type of meditaion, and Tanu had sat. He had been sitting for several hours now and although he didn't mind it, his nose did, which itched so profusely it felt as if a thousand tiny ants wriggled across its surface. This was the cause for his irritation, for he dared not move until told to for fear of disappointing his master. Tanu did not want to be the unwilling pupil, the student who would not do as told. So he sat, nose itching. Finally he could bear it no longer and, using a technique he had been taught of waterbending that only required use of the head, he created a small icicle and pushed it towards his face by use of water. He used this thin sliver of frozen water to scratch at his nose until he felt better.

Tanu stirred, catching some far-off sound that seemed to be the crunching of feet on the ice. Wait, maybe not one pair of feet. He strained to hear more, wondering if it was a threat to him. And then suddenly there was a deafening roar and the sound of large feet hitting the ice, growing louder and louder as time progressed. George stood and spun around, opening his eyes as his hand flew to the hilt of Albitr. He saw a flash of blue-white fur and a glimpse of yellowed teeth. Then domething slammed into his chest, knocking him backwards onto the ice. His limbs spread into a star shape and his grip on Albitr did not falter, thus making him draw the blade from its scabbard. Tanu hit the ice and his sword was jolted out of his grasp. The experience was soon over and Tanu opened his eyes to find a polar bear sitting on his chest. Tanu feared for his life as he caught sight of the beast's eyes. They were filled with the lust for blood and unbearable hunger. Tanu acted upon instict. He moved the ice underneath him, making it water, and fell into the hole this action created. He was falling for a split-second; after that he was being propelled upward by a geyser of water. He went back to the surface of the tundra and forced a giant wave at the bear. The animal saw this wave and whimpered in fear, turning on its heels and running as fast as it could. Tanu watched it go and as soon as it was out of site he let the wave drop. The boy was exhausted from the use of his abilities so quickly. He dropped his gaze to the ground, searching for his sword. He must be cautious, for if the blade were to touch him or his clothes in any way something would be cut. The only thing Tanu could see was the hilt. He shuffled around the hilt until the blade should be facing away from him. He picked up the sword and sheathed it, then sat cross-legged again and resumed his meditation.

Tanu sat on the ice cross-legged while dreaming things in his mind. Not actually dreaming but daydreaming, and he was sort of enjoying it. He heard the sound of the ocean around him and this greatly influenced his imaginings. For example, he dreamed of a giant sea serpent erupting from the surf and looking at him with friendly, open eyes. Tanu laughed for no reason and jumped, for longer than normal, onto the creature's scaly back. It then dove under the water and for some strange reason Tanu could breathe. He watched mountains of colorful fish pass him at times and sometimes he would glimpse a minor ocean spirit. When he saw a spirit he waved but they always exploded into more colorful fish. It was exhilirating, riding on the monster's hide and sometimes the serpent would break the surface, going twenty feet into the air and then arcing down. They would hit the water with a huge splash that jolted Tanu, almost making him fall off. When he regained his balance and stability he would laugh and everything around him, from the sea serpent to the fish to the coral on the reefs would laugh with him. And then the sea serpent stopped laughing. Then, one by one, the fish stopped laughing, then te coral, then finally Tanu. He looked around curious and the sea serpent swam off in one direction, making a beeline for some part of the ocean unknown. Everything disappeared, the serpent, the fish, and even the spirits. And suddenly Tanu felt very cold as he floated there in the water, feeling more alone than he ever had in his life. The boy looked around and saw a large dark shape, ominous and menacing. It was swimming slowly, as if it was trying to get somewhere but was in no rush. As Tanu watched, its pace quickened and its direction changed towards him. Tanu tried to swim away but to no avail. The thing came faster and faster and Tanu finally realized what it was. The animal was called the Hanaku, which was a grotesque creature that was half dragon and half albino whale. What was worse was that it was ruler of all ice and cold and could thus freeze you inside out if it wanted to. The beast came closer to Tanu, then finally got so close that it opened its huge jaws and swallowed the boy in one bite. Tanu awoke with a start, expecting to be inside a whale's stomach, but he realized he had merely fallen asleep and it had been a dream. He then went back to meditating.

Tanu began to grow worried as the light in the sky began to fade away. He knew he was supposed to be meditating until told not to, but was he really going to have to sit out here for the whole night? Tanu shifted his position many times as his nervousbess deepened and deepened. His master wouldn't make him sit out here in the dark? Surely his master knew of the beasts that came out at night, right? Tanu became so nervous that his meditation didn't work out so well and his heart started beating faster. And faster. And faster. And finally so fast it made the poor boy pass out. He toppled onto his side and lay there, unconscious. His master did notnotice tthis, but something else did. It glimpsed the boy and trotted over to him, staring at the creature with its head with its head cocked to one side. It decidd it was harmless and defenseless, so it picked Tanu up by the back of his parka and carried him back to its den. It set the boy down and nudged at him until he awoke. Tanu's eyes cracked open and he groggily blinked. He sat up and groaned, putting a hand to the head that hurt so much. As things began to come into focus, he noticed that he wasn't outside anymore. He was in a cave facing the mouth and outside of this alcove was a raging blizzard. Tanu rubbed his eyes and looked around the cave. It smelled strangely of rotting meat. He saw little wolf cubs, who were barely covered in gray-white fur, fighting over a bone, each pulling at it from a different side. They were yipping and growling at one another, and this clamor contimued until the mother wolf, who was sitting right behind Tanu, barked at them. She padded over and grabbed the bone away. Then she dropped it on the ground and pounced on it twice, breaking it into three equal pieces. Tanu watched as she gave a piece to each cub, then returned to her initial spot. He was impressed with the mother's problem-solving skills. This was truly a smart wolf. One of them began to whimper and Tanu looked around, confused. He glanced back and saw it was the mother wolf, who was looking at him with as much of a worried face as a wolf could muster. He smiled and her eyebrows shot up and so did her head, staring at him intently as they did. She barked at him, letting him know her concern for him. She then put her head down and made a series of wolf-like sounds at her cubs. The little ones picked up their bones and walked over to her. She let them press up against her stomach and then curled around them, keeping them warm as they slept. Tanu smiled, and he stood up as quiet as he could. He found a godd number of branches that had been dragged into the cave. He gathered some stones as well and placed them in a loose but compact circle. He piled the branches in the midle, then took out the flint he carried everywhere. Tanu drew one half of Albitr and used the hilt to scratch at the flint. Sparks flew and after many failed attempts, one of them hit the wood and began to burn. Tanu blew at the small flame and soon enough he had a roaring fire that he and the wolves seemed to enjoy. Tanu decided to wait out here until morning, then if the blizzard had died down he would go lookfor his master an his master's house.

Tanu sat there all night, tending his fire and sometimes poking it with a twig. At one point he got a more-or-less fresh pice of meat from one of the carcasses scattered in the small cave and stabbed it through with the same stick. He would've used Albitr, as the blade would not burn, but he knew that the meat would just fall off. Thus he went with the stick. As he sat there twirling the branch he became sort of attached to the wolves. They had saved him after all, and he felt grateful and a little embarassed at this idea. He wondered if the mother wolf considered him a cub. As he sat there gnawing on the meat he had cooked he began to become drowsy. He didn't realize it. One minute he was awake, the next he was sprawled on the cave floor fast asleep. When he woke the next day he found himself surrounded on all sides by fur. For a minute he panicked before he realized where he was and what the wall of fur was. He relaxed and laid back, upsetting the wolves and waking them from their slumber. They stood and stretched, as only wolves do. Then they stood stock still, unmoving. If Tanu didn't know better he would've thought they were statues. Then the canines began to growl and yip, and they grabbed Tanu's pants in their jaws and pulled him outside.The little cubs ran off toward where Tanu thought his master lived and so did the mother. She turned back, however, and barked at Tanu. By this time the poor boy was hopelessly confused. Then he heard something from behind him and he turned around. The cave he had been sleeping in was a small opening in a larger mountain. This came as no surprise, as their were many of these. The surprise came from the snow rushing down it. As it grew closer the sound got much louder. Tanu finally understood what the wolves were doing. If they hadn't have moved they would have been buried under the snow, along with their house. As Tanu recognized this danger, neither his instincts, which told him to run, or his head, which was saying run also, did he follow. He went with his training and lifted up his arms, planning to stop the snow. It might've worked too, if there hadn't been so much rushig down with so much speed. He managed to slow the avalanche but he ended up running away from it. Behind him there was a huge BADOOSH!! as the snow hit the ground. The group began to slow down as they realized they were no longer in danger. The she-wolf came up to Tanu and he knelt in front of her, scratching her chin and saying, "Thanks. I owe you my life. Well, actually, two lives." She just licked his face and he laughed, getting back up and walking towards his master's home. "Ya know," Tanu Said to the wolf as they walked, "I think I'll keep you. And your name will ne Lupa. How does that sound girl?" In response she licked his hand and he smiled and patted her head. "I wonder what Master will say when he sees me walking up to his house with wolves trotting at my heels," Tanu said to himself.