Despite Bumi supposedly teaching me earth bending, we didn't so much as attempt to move a single piece of earth for three straight days as we did nothing but lay on the ground without eyes closed; I'm confident if this were anyone else, I wouldn't have bothered to listen to them, but this was Bumi, my friend the 'Mad Genius'.
"So, are we going to lay on the ground for the fourth day in a row?" Asked Aang blandly as he looked at Bumi, who suddenly ripped his shirt off, revealing his muscular physique, before shaking his head.
"Nope! Let me ask you, Aang, what do all earth benders have in common?" Replied Bumi with a shake of his head while grinning, only to place his hands behind his back before walking circles around Aang, who furrowed his brows.
"A lack of manners?" "Haha, Yes! But what else?" Remarked Aang and Bumi, respectively, as the former glanced at the latter with a raised eyebrow, causing him to laugh with a maddened expression before shaking his head.
I took my time answering as there were quite a few things I could think of, but since the subject was earth-bending, it helped narrow it down.
"They're strong." Said Aang lightly as he glanced at Bumi before looking at his large frame that put his own to shame.
"YES!" Yelled Bumi loudly with a grin as he jumped onto the couch while flexing his muscles, displaying his sheer vascularity, causing Aang to nod.
"I don't know how it is to air bend, but earth is different; it's heavy and doesn't want to move. You can't ask or command it; you must FORCE it to move! And to force something as heavy as earth to move, you must be strong!" Declared Bumi with a crazy grin as he swiftly neared Aang before leaning into him, closing the distance between them.
Leaning backward, I hesitantly looked at Bumi, who suddenly leaped backward before reaching down, clutching the air with such force it seemed as if he were holding hundreds of pounds, and before I could question him, he lifted his hands into the air, causing the ground beneath to violently shake for several moments before eventually stopping.
Looking at Bumi, I approached the door and opened it, only to step out onto the porch while gazing downwards at Omashu; if I had to guess, we were at least two to three hundred meters into the sky, and he not only lifted us this high, he lifted the entire house.
'This is arguably the most impressive display of earthbending I have ever seen, except when Toph stopped Wan Shi Tong's library from sinking. Now that I've explored it and come to understand its sheer size, my respect for her has tremendously grown.' Thought Aang with a surprised expression as he gazed downwards at Omashu while the wind gently hit his face, only for two hands to suddenly grab his shoulders, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"What was this for? A show of strength?" "Hehe, kind of. I wanted to show you what earth bending is capable of, Aang." Remarked Aang and Bumi, respectively, as the former curiously raised an eyebrow while the latter smirked before nodding.
"Does that mean you'll finally start training me?" Asked Aang blandly as he looked at Bumi, who opened his mouth only for a faint siren to reach them.
Although we were far away, thanks to sound bending, I could amplify all noises that managed to reach us, prompting Bumi and I to perfectly hear the words from the General of Omashu.
"All men, prepare to defend! Fire Nation is attacking! I repeat, all men prepare to defend! Fire Nation is attacking!" Yelled General loudly as he stood atop the wall surrounding Omashu while gazing at the approaching Fire Nation army.
Bumi and I glanced at each other before shifting our gaze to the Fire Nation encampment, only to see a large army consisting of several hundred, possibly reaching a thousand, along with numerous trebuchets, catapults, ballistas, and even a few boxes with a hundred arrows.
"They've upgraded their armory." Muttered Aang with a slight frown as he narrowed his eyes, staring at the numerous siege weapons, only for a massive flaming sphere to be launched from a catapult, heading right for them.
'That's not good.' Thought Aang with a slight frown as he prepared to intercept the attack, only for Bumi to suddenly laugh.
"Hahaha, the first one down wins!" Yelled Bumi with a grin as he leaped off the massive earth pillar, falling through the sky rapidly.
I nearly thought my eyes were deceiving me when I saw Bumi leap off the side, but once I remembered it was Bumi, I inwardly cursed before ignoring the rapidly approaching flaming sphere of death as I followed behind him, leaping off the earth pillar three hundred meters in the sky.
"Wooooo, this is living!" Saif Bumi loudly as he rag-dolled through the sky while Aang increased his speed, swiftly catching up to him.
Slamming into Bumi from behind, I wrapped one arm around his waist before creating a vortex around my waist, rapidly slowing our descent until we gently landed on the ground while I dropped Bumi.
"Tsk, dang it, you won." Muttered Bumi with a slight frown as he looked at Aang, who took several deep breaths.
I was a calm-mannered person, but Bumi was something special; he was the only person who could bring out the worst in me.
'Deep breaths, Aang, just like Yangchen taught you.' Thought Aang softly as he calmed himself lest he lash out at Bumi, who leaped onto his feet before dashing to the entrance of Omashu.
Once I calmed down, I opened my eyes and chased after Bumi, who propelled himself over the wall with an earth spring while I leaped over with the assistance of an exploding vortex.
As I floated through the sky, I saw a few hundred soldiers of Omashu standing in front of the battered wall that had been preventing the Fire Nation from conquering them for years. The soldiers created numerous walls which helped serve as cover while they retaliated against the powerful army, though while they managed to keep the army at bay, the siege weapons were whittling away at the wall, and while it may not happen today or even for another month or two, they would eventually break through despite all the repairing they do.
I even saw Bumi in the midst of it all, and although he was crazy and easily got on my nerves, he did seem to take this situation with the utmost seriousness.
Landing on top of the wall, I glanced at the General to my right, who was commanding the soldiers below, before approaching him.
"General, your biggest concern isn't the army but the siege weapons." Said Aang calmly as he glanced at the General, who grunted in annoyance while nodding.
"Hmph, I see that Nomad! They're behind that Army; if I want to get to them, we must defeat that Army. I'm not sending my men on a suicide mission, even if they were to ignore the army and attack the siege weapons, it isn't worth it!" Declared General through gnashed teeth as he glared at Aang before commanding his men, while the wall constantly trembled from the continuous attacks.
"If the Army was immobilized, would you send your men to destroy the siege weapon?" Asked Aang curiously as he glanced at the hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers before looking at the General, who aggressively nodded.
Humming, I left the General alone and leaped down below before sprinting towards the battle, speedily passing several Omashu soldiers as I raised my hand, creating a dense sphere of air. Passing Bumi, who was at the front lines, acting as their vanguard, I gave him a side-glance while dodging both flames and boulders that were being constantly exchanged between each army, which was a bit difficult, but I remained untouched.
When I reached the middle, I thrust my hand forward, causing the dense sphere to rapidly expand, pushing away whatever flames headed my way, allowing me to close the distance with the enemy army. Once I got close, I firmly planted my foot on the ground and reached behind me on the right side before swinging my arms forward, creating a powerful gust of wind that rapidly circulated, causing it quickly grow into a massive tornado that entered the enemies lines, sucking every soldier into the air.
It didn't take long for every soldier to be engulfed within the tornado that now dwarfed even the Fire Nations encampment, leaving only the heavy siege weapons.
"Well, please attack, General." Said Aang lightly as he turned around and glanced at the stunned General, using sound bending so his voice could reach him.
"A-ATTACK THE SIEGE WEAPONS!" Yelled General loudly as he commanded his soldiers, prompting the vanguard and Bumi to rush forward.
While the soldiers rushed towards the siege weapons, I would wave my hand, creating a rotating spherical vortex around them that roasted counter-clockwise, offsetting the tornado's powerful wind force and ensuring they didn't get swept into the air like their enemies.
"This is how you air bend, Bumi." Said Aang with a faint smirk as he glanced at Bumi, who sported a crazy grin before running past him.