From the fog of the sea, the silhouette of a large, mountainous, connection of islands was seen. The one and only fire nation. Yerin smiled as she began to see the place more and more clearer, she wondered what would lie ahead for her once she arrives, who would she meet? What would she learn?

 

The ship finally landed at a dock and they were greeted by a man dressed in fire nation attire.

 

“Hello there, avatar Yerin. It’s such an honor to meet you.”

 

He bowed deeply and Yerin followed suit after she got off of the boat, making Jibang sit next to her so he wouldn’t run off without her.

 

“I am your guide for the day as we get you transported to the royal capital of our glorious fire nation. We’ve prepared a small airship for you and your furry companion to take you there swiftly and efficiently.”

 

“Thank you, we really appreciate it! I didn’t bring much so I’m sure we can fit Jibang in.”

 

“Yes uh...he seems quite intimidating..”

 

Jibang was busy looking off at a food stand in the distance, drool starting to fall from his mouth as he wagged his tail. Yerin rolled her eyes and scratched behind his ears.

 

“He drools at the sight of any food. He’s fine, we ate a bit before getting off the ship.”

 

“I see...quite the charmer. Shall we get going?”

 

======

 

Yerin and Jibang were escorted off of the airship and were led towards the gated entrance of the fire palace. The courtyard was gigantic, Jibang had to be brought back to reality by Yerin as she knew he was thinking about all the running he could do in there. 

 

They were led towards the main front doors of the palace and were introduced to the fire lord as they walked in.

 

“Avatar Yerin, your highness.”

 

Yerin bowed deeply as a sign of respect and smiled brightly once she stood back up straight. The fire lord was a strong looking man who chuckled at the sight of Jibang sitting obediently at her side.

 

“It’s such a pleasure to meet you at last, avatar. I hope you’ll enjoy your stay here as we’ve tried our best to recruit the best masters to come and help you today. Ladies, could you come inside?”

 

He called out towards one of the hallways and two young girls came from it, Yerin was quite surprised as she thought she would be taught by older people.

 

“Here is Master Kim Sojung and her assistant Hwang Eunbi.”

 

They both bowed towards Yerin as she did the same. She was surprised at their build, Master Sojung was tall and had a lean body while Eunbi was shorter and was more muscular.

 

“I hope that you can help me reach my fullest potential, masters.”

 

“We will try our very best, avatar Yerin.”

 

Master Sojung said with a smile as a response. Eunbi hadn’t said a single word since they walked in and had a very cold look on her face. It made Yerin curious but she didn’t want to ask or assume anything.

 

“Well, we’ll lead you to your quarters for the evening. Please join us in the main hall for dinner, you will need to fill up for training tomorrow morning, avatar Yerin.”

 

“Yes, thank you so much, your highness.”

 

======

 

After dinner, Yerin yawned as she led Jibang into their room. She let him settle down in a corner of the room as she set down her bag and stretched her back.

 

“Damnit!”

 

She heard a faint yell and her ears perked up at the sound. She peered through her window to see that Eunbi was outside, kneeling on the floor as she held her hand. Yerin being Yerin was immediately concerned and began to put her shoes back on to go outside but she found what happened next absolutely astonishing.

 

Eunbi got into a low stance, collecting her hands together and pointing out two fingers as she did so. And from her fingers there was sparks of lightning appearing and they kept growing as she moved them. She then lunged forward to shoot a target, only for it to backfire and for her to be shot back by the lightning.

 

Yerin made a mad dash from her room, out the sliding doors leading towards the back courtyard, and towards Eunbi’s direction.

 

“M-miss Eunbi! Are you alright?”

 

She was startled by Yerin’s presence and immediately stood up before bowing to her. She didn’t say a word as she stood back up straight, not even flinching at the burn wound she had gotten on her right hand.

 

“You were...bending lightning...how did you do that?”

 

“With practice.”

 

Yerin felt a sort of shiver go down her spine as she finally heard her speak, her voice was deep and slightly cold to hear. She gulped and nodded in understanding before turning her attention back to her hand that had begun to bleed slightly at the fingertips.

 

“My goodness, you’re bleeding!”

 

She immediately walked even closer as a reflex but Eunbi backed up at the sudden movement. She held her own hand and stood back up straight.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“I know how to heal with water. Are you sure you don’t need help?”

 

Eunbi shook her head firmly and bowed before excusing herself. She walked back inside and towards one of the rooms before shutting the door behind her.

 

“I’m guessing that’s her room...it really looked like it hurt..”

 

Yerin sighed deeply and walked back towards her room with her head down, looking defeated.

 

======

 

“We break through the main walls and begin to march towards the main capital. Hopefully our trap is set well enough so that the avatar can leap into action.”

 

“But Haseul, how will we know which one’s the avatar?”

 

From the head of the metal table, a dark figure stood up, short hair, tan skin, and a fiery look in her sharp, blue eyes. She held her hands together and rubbed her knuckles as she spoke up again.

 

“We’ll know. I sure as hell know I will.”

 

She suddenly bent water into the form of ice shards and shot it at the wall. There was a map of the fire nation hung up on it and it was stabbed through immediately.

 

“I wanna see the look on that stupid face of hers as I tear her limb from limb.”

 

She grabbed her things from the table and stormed off from the meeting room after speaking up loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

 

“We leave tomorrow and arrive in the evening. The darkness will be our disguise. We will make the avatar pay!”

 

======

 

“Fire bending is the only one of the main four bending variants to come from within the body. Our bodies generate this heat and through our limbs comes what we know to be..”

 

Master Sojung lunged forward and, from her open palm, blasted out a large flame. It surprised Yerin as she was amazed by the size and heat of it.

 

“..fire. It’s what goes through our veins and makes us who we are. We are blessed with this gift and I hope you’ll be open to tapping into the full potential fire can have. It does not bring just destruction, it creates life and keeps it sustained.”

 

Master Sojung finished her speech and Yerin couldn’t help but stare in awe at her presence, for once in her life, she would be taught be a traditional fire bending master.

 

“Now, avatar Yerin, show us what you can do.”

 

Yerin nodded and scurried to stand in front of one of the targets. She brought her hands into fists and held them just under her waist. She breathed in deeply and began to attack the target with multiple blasts of fire from her hands and feet. Once she was done, she stood at attention and turned back around towards Master Sojung and Eunbi. The taller girl smiled and nodded in approval.

 

“Very good, avatar Yerin. However, when you’re using fire, you happen to be using it as just that, fire. Try to use it as an extension of your body, use full extension of the limbs, you’re keeping them to close to your body. Longer, sharper movements. Try again.”

 

After running a few more drills with them, Yerin was brought to an empty part of the yard and a bit further away from her stood Eunbi at attention.

 

“To end your training for today, Miss Eunbi and you will be holding an informal Agni Kai. Usually these are fought to the death of until the other opponent surrenders and accepts exile and dishonor...however! This is just for training purposes and we can stop at anytime without any repercussions.”

 

Eunbi got in a low stance and Yerin gulped before following suit. Sojung chuckled as she saw the almost terrified look on the avatar’s face.

 

“You may begin now!”

 

Eunbi was quick and precise in her attacks as she shot multiple beams of fire at Yerin. The avatar managed to block most of them but fell multiple times, saying sorry every time she did.

 

“Gosh…she needs to learn how to fight head to head..”

 

Yerin finally had enough and charged forwards, shooting balls of fire from her hands as she jumped and kicked Eunbi’s chest. The fire bender groaned as she was kicked down but quickly got up, managing to hit Yerin again as she did so.

 

“Work on your footing, avatar! Don’t be so apologetic!”

 

“Sorry- damnit!”

 

Yerin made a quick spinning kick, breaking Eunbi’s flow. She took this as an advantage and kept pushing her back with each strike. 

 

“Be careful with your spacing, Eunbi!”

 

Eunbi got fed up with Sojung’s teasing and Yerin’s pushing and finally managed to gain some ground after sweeping Yerin by her feet and pining her to the ground with her knee on her chest, one hand ready to shoot fire at her.

 

“Enough! That’s quite enough, Eunbi.”

 

Yerin gasped for breath as she saw Eunbi’s face so close to hers and her hand already showing smoke as she made it into a fist.

 

“Um…I’m sorry for pushing you back too much-“

 

“You’re too empathetic.”

 

Eunbi said in her deep, cold voice that gave Yerin shivers down her spine. The fire bender stood up and held out her hand for Yerin to take. She stood up and dusted off her top before waiting for master Sojung’s notes.

 

“Miss Eunbi is right, you’re a bit too empathetic. I just hope you’re not like this in an actual battle..”

 

“I’ve never been in a real battle, master Sojung…it’s always been fighting in a controlled environment.”

 

“No worries. We’ll get you prepped for your battles in the distant future soon enough. Besides that, your technique is beautiful. Wonderful first day, avatar Yerin. You are dismissed.”

 

Yerin smiled brightly and got her things before walking off towards the showers to clean up. Master Sojung sighed as she walked closer to Eunbi and put a hand on her shoulder.

 

“Your distaste is showing.”

 

“I never wanted to train her. Let alone fight her.”

 

“What do you have against her anyway?”

 

“Her demeanor. She’s just so damn optimistic and bubbly. I thought she’d be more serious. She’s the avatar for crying out loud.”

 

“Sometimes we have to settle with what we’re given. It’s our job to make sure she doesn’t fumble in a real battle. Or else we’ll be blamed for her demise..”

 

======

 

“Spin…then jump into a..”

 

Yerin lunged as she landed from a jump and shot forward a large flame. She sighed as it was sloppy and wasn’t as sharp as she wanted it to be. She sat down on the floor in defeat and looked towards the Agni Kai floor she used just a couple hours ago.

 

“Am I really too empathetic? I just feel bad if I hurt someone..”

 

“Stop that.”

 

Yerin snapped her head backwards to find Eunbi sitting on one of the benches by the entrance to the living quarters. She audibly gasped and stood up, bowing deeply. Eunbi stood up and began to walk towards her as she spoke.

 

“For this job, this duty, you have to not worry. You can’t worry about whether or not you’re gonna hurt someone. Sometimes you have to hurt people and that’s fine, it’s part of who you are and what you must do to protect what you love.”

 

Yerin looked at Eunbi with wide eyes. This is the most she heard her ever talk. She ended up walking quite close to her and Yerin gulped while stepping back a bit.

 

“Sorry…for being-“

 

“Enough!”

 

Eunbi suddenly shot a flame in her direction and Yerin yelped as she barely dodged it. She looked back to Eunbi, ready to ask what was wrong. Only for Eunbi to shoot another one at her and begin to charge towards her. Yerin began to block and dodge her attacks, not sure if she should hit Eunbi back or not.

 

“What are you doing? Hit me!”

 

Yerin mentally slapped herself and finally began moving forward. She made strikes but Eunbi was faster, she dodged almost all of them and Yerin was struggling slightly to keep up.

 

“Don’t be worried! Hit me!”

 

Yerin finally has enough and sent a quick, precise flame at Eunbi. It was too fast for her to see and Eunbi was hit on her shoulder as she stumbled back. Yerin took this opportunity and kicked her stomach, making her fall to the ground. She pressed her knee on her stomach and pinned her wrists on the floor.

 

Eunbi groaned as she opened her eyes, seeing Yerin on top of her with a fiery look her eyes. Eunbi hummed as she nodded, Yerin let her grip loosen a bit.

 

“Much better.”

 

“Oh uh…thank you..!”

 

“You can get off of me now.”

 

“Oh! Sorry!”

 

Yerin scrambled to get off of Eunbi and sat on the ground, watching as she stood up a bit painfully. She grabbed her shoulder and began walking away.

 

“W-wait! Miss Eunbi!”

 

Eunbi turned around and Yerin stood up clumsily before talking in a shaky voice. Eunbi couldn’t help but feel a bit taken aback by almost how cute Yerin seemed.

 

“I’m sorry for getting mad and hurting you. I could…heal that burn for you if you’d like?”

 

Eunbi contemplated her offer for a bit before turning back to head to her own room. She spoke as she walked away.

 

“Thanks for the offer. But I’m fine. Get some rest.”

 

“O-okay! You too!”

 

Yerin saw Eunbi enter her room and close the door and she finally let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She couldn’t help but feel nervous around her, nobody had ever made her feel this way before. It worried Yerin. Before her mind could explode, she fixed her clothes and went into her room so she could rest.