Burning Chapter 9: Bonfire

Lying on my back with my hands tucked behind my head, I let out a small content sight. It was shaping up to be a pretty relaxing day. The sun was out, hanging just overhead, the waves were gently crashing against the shore and there were no soldiers in sight.

The only thing that could make it better would be if I had something cold to drink, but, alas, I didn’t think that far ahead.

It’d been fairly quiet, all things considered. A few days had passed since we’d managed to free the Earthbenders and steal Zhao’s shiny new ship, the thought of how angry he’d been still filled me with a great amount of amusement.

We’d been sticking pretty close to the coast... Visiting a few nearby villages to resupply and see if there were any rumours about any spirits in the area... Which there was. Apparently there was a small village that was experiencing some paranormal activity after the Fire Nation burnt down their forest.

“Okay, I think I’m ready to go again,” Aang called out, making his way over.

Right. Between Sokka cooking lunch on a campfire a little further up and Katara taking a swim, I thought Aang would have been a little more preoccupied.

“Alright.” Pushing myself up, I shook the sand loose from my clothes before taking a basic stance. “Where were we again?”

Mirroring me, he threw his fist forward, unleashing a blast of fire.

Stepping into the attack, I swatted it to the side, allowing it to break on my palm before returning fire. As predicted, he spun to the side, using his Airbending tactics to dodge the flames.

“Heh, sorry... Reflex,” Aang muttered sheepishly. “I should be doing this as a Firebender.”

He wasn’t wrong there. While he’d learnt the basics insanely fast, they hadn’t become instinctual just yet. As Toph would say, he was thinking like an Airbender and while there’s nothing wrong with that, the point of this was for him to practice Firebending. He needed to learn how to stand his ground and block.

“That’s alright. Let’s try that again, but this time I want you to defend.”

Nodding, Aang stood at the ready, looking a little nervous.

Breathing slowly, I threw my fist forward, sending a stream of fire his way.

Aang, to his credit, only took a single step back before standing his ground. Clapping his hands together, he stabbed them forward, just barely touching the flames before ripping them down, splitting the fire down the middle. It was somewhat off center, but it was progress.

Blinking, Aang stared down at his hands before a grin split his face. “That was awesome. What’s next? I think I remember Zuko doing this really cool fiery kick. Can we do that next?”

“In time,” I chuckled. “There’s actually something a bit cooler I’d like to show you... An advanced Firebending technique that might just save your life one day.”

“What is it?” Aang asked eagerly.

“Lightning redirection,” I answered calmly. “Among Firebending, Lightning Generation is one of the most powerful skills that only the top benders know. It’s an incredibly dangerous skill that the Fire Lord is a master in... And I’m going to teach you how to throw it right back at him. Pay attention to my movement, I’ll be testing you later.”

Practically vibrating with anticipation, Aang blinked. “Wait, how do you test something like that?”

“Easy, I’m going to hit you with lightning.” I grinned. “Nothing too serious, just enough for a little shock so even if you fail, there won’t be any damage.”

Lightning was dangerous at the best of times, but one thing I’d realized fairly quickly when learning how to use it was that no one really played around with it to see what they could do. Sure Ozai was a master at generating lightning, but he lacked the creativity to take it any further.

“Phew, for a second there, I was worried,” Aang sighed in relief. “You know, that looks a lot like a Waterbending move, only sharper.”

“It’s based off of Waterbending,” I replied. “The Avatar’s not the only one that benefits from learning the other elements. I’ll show you a technique of my own creation a little later on.”

“I didn’t realize that,” Aang murmured. “That’s really cool... Is this what it was like when you trained under your teacher back in the Fire Nation?”

Pausing my movement, I let out a little chuckle. “No... It’s nothing like back then. Let’s just say that my training was a little more... Involved.”

...Burning...

Breathing heavily, I leaned against a nearby tree, clutching my arm to my chest as blue fire raged around me. The skin was an angry red and blisters were already beginning to form.

Unlike when I’d accidentally cut myself on a knife when I was training with Mai, or how Ty Lee would sometimes accidentally knock me out. Azula on the other hand was an entirely different beast.

She was, for lack of a better word, intense. Refusing to pull her punches, Azula put everything she had into her fire and expected me to do the same which normally wasn’t a problem, but since this was a spar, I was having a little trouble adapting.

There was a big difference in knowing how to do something and applying that same thing in combat.

It didn’t help that she’d managed to land the first hit within a few seconds of us starting. If this had been an Agni Kai, I would have lost immediately... In some ways, that might have been preferable. Instead, I’d been forced to weather her attacks for several minutes.

“Is that all?” Azula asked, looking completely fine. Not a hair out of place. “Are you done? Say the word and this can all end.”

Not trusting my voice right now, I shook my head.

“I don’t know, Azula, I think you might have maybe gone a teensy bit overboard,” Ty Lee chimed in from her spot next to Mai, just out of range. “He looks a little extra crispy... Like that time we tried to cook our own food and ended up forgetting that fish on the fire.”

Say what now? I was going to have to ask her about that later.

Raising my good hand, I took a breath as fire sparked to life at my finger tips. Taking a step forward, pain radiated from my arm throughout my body, rapidly draining my strength. Feeling my legs begin to shake, I only had a moment to brace myself before they gave out from under me.

“I suppose you might be right,” Azula sighed. “I guess we’ll just have to–“

Jabbing my thumb into a pressure point on my shoulder, I let out a sigh of relief as the pain suddenly faded. Sure it left my arm unusable, but I wasn’t planning on using it anyway.

“Sorry,” I breathed a bit easier. Pushing myself up, I took a stance I’d seen Azula use fairly often, giving as little area for her to aim at as possible. “I just needed a minute to catch my breath. We can start again... If you want.”

For the first time since I’d met her, Azula seemed somewhat surprised with Ty Lee following right behind. Mai on the other hand raised a single eyebrow, but otherwise appeared bored.

“And why did you feel the need to Chi block your own arm?” Azula asked, more curious than anything else.

“It was holding me back, I don’t need it right now,” I shrugged. “This... is just a flesh wound.”

Smirking, she crossed her arms, clearly amused. “What happens when it’s your legs and other arm, hmm? What then?”

“We’ll call it a draw.”

Breathing slowly, I pulled my arm back, ready to continue our spar, only for Azula to hold her hand out, signalling for me to stop.

“That’s enough, we’ll be stopping here for today,” She said. Staring at me for a moment, she quickly switched to examining her fingernails. “I was curious to see how well you would do when pressed and wanted to test your resolve. Needless to say, you’ve passed... Barely.”

Coming from someone like Azula, that was high praise.

“Thank you. I’ll do better next time,” I promised, getting a nod in return.

Not able to control herself any longer, Ty Lee rushed forward. “That was so cool. Azula, your blue flames were so pretty and Lee... I mean, Honō, I, uh... What was your...” Staring down at my burnt arm, she winced. “I guess we’re not going to be able to work on Chi blocking today.”

“No... Sorry.”

“That’s okay,” She beamed. “I know how it can be. Rest is a part of training too, you know. We’ll just have to work on it some other day instead.”

I smiled. Ty Lee really was a sweet person.

“If there’s one good thing to take from this, it’s that you won’t be able to badger me into showing you how to properly throw a knife,” Mai droned, making her way closer at a sedated pace.

I suppose there was that. I did still have one hand, but I was going to start feeling the other one soon and that was bound to cause more than a few problems. I didn’t want to learn any bad habits.

“Then perhaps you can show Ty Lee,” Azula suggested. “If anyone is in need of your lessons, it’s her.”

Mai drooped, appearing even gloomier while Ty Lee, being her polar opposite, beamed brightly.

“Can we?” Ty Lee asked, bouncing on the ball of her feet.

“...Sure,” Mai sighed tiredly. “Why not?.. Me and my big mouth.”

Reaching into her pocket, Azula pulled out a small glass container and held it out towards me. “For your burns.”

Taking the container, I stared down at it for a moment. She’d actually gone to the trouble of preparing something for me beforehand.

“Thank you.” Struggling to open it with one hand, I glanced up at Azula who was watching me curiously. “Do you think you could help me out?”

“Are you asking me, princess of the Fire Nation, next in line for the throne, future Fire Lord, to help you apply a burn salve?” She asked, fire flaring around her dramatically.

I was actually asking if she could hold it, but since she put it like that. “Sure, you see, as a humble commoner, I don’t know how to use such a fancy thing. I wouldn’t want to mess it up.” Flicking the lid open, I dipped a finger in. “How do I do this? It smells a bit like lavender, does that mean I eat it?”

Twitching, she grabbed the salve and spread some across two of her fingers before painfully pinching a burn on my face. “I suppose I could bear to help given the role I played in your current state… At least until you’re able to move your arm once more.”

Oh… She was going to wait for me to regain feeling in my arm.

Mistakes had been made.

...Burning...

Waking up, I slowly opened my eyes to find that it was still the dead of night. The fire had just about burnt itself out, leaving behind a few stray embers that smouldered against the sand. Rubbing my eyes as they adjusted to the dark, I looked around to find that everyone was still fast asleep.

Judging by the position of the moon, it would still be a good few hours before the sun would rise. Part of me felt that I should rekindle the fire, but if I got up, I’d probably end up waking everyone else.

It’d probably be for the best if I left it... It’s not like it was a particularly cold night either and any nearby predators would be chased off by the sound of Appa’s snore.

Stretching, I let out a soft yawn, only for a hand to suddenly clamp down on my mouth, accompanied by an arm that wrapped around my neck.

Forming a small ball of fire, I swung my arms upwards, only for it to immediately be drenched by what felt like a bucket of thick mud that clung to my body.

“Get his arms... Bury them!” A voice hissed in my ear. “Legs too!”

Struggling to break free, I thrashed around in my captor's grip as several more people grabbed onto me. Steam radiated from my hands as fire once more burned into existence only to be extinguished by a few more buckets of muddied water.

Feeling my strength beginning to leave me, I stared up at the night sky. It was hard to tell if the darkness was from the night itself or from my failing vision.

“That’s it, slip easily into oblivion,” The voice whispered. “We’ll take care of your friends real soon.”

Pulling weakly in an attempt to break free, my body suddenly went limp as the fight left me. I was vaguely aware of my captors saying something, but it was hard to listen to when my lungs were screaming for air as loudly as they were.

There was nothing to do but wait now. All it would take is a few short seconds and I’d be out. There was no one coming to save me, everyone was still asleep. I couldn’t even save myself–

“Are you done?”

Pooling what strength I had left to my right hand, I pulled on everything I could, fuelling my flames with any and everything combustible.

“Ah, crap, that burns. Get another bucket... Quickly!” A panicked voice called out. “I can’t hold him for much longer.”

Giving one final push, I managed to break free. Not willing to let this opportunity pass, I brought my arm up, sending a spray of molten sand into the air that lit up the night sky in what appeared as a meteor shower.

Bringing my arm down, I dug my elbow into the man behind me, hitting a pressure point that forced him to release me. Gasping for air, I rolled to the side as the group once more tried to get a hold of me.

Pushing myself up, I took a defensive stance while eyeing the shadowy figures on the beach. The night air was like ice now, not dissimilar to that of a cold winter's day.

Swiping my arm, a wave of blue flames shot off, forcing the group to fall back. Striking the ground, it lit up the beachfront in an ethereal glow that just barely revealed their forms in the dark. There were quite a few of them, around twelve... Maybe more.

I took in a slow, deep breath, getting control over myself once more. Glancing back at the gang, I was relieved to find that they were all awake. It seemed they’d chosen to target me first, leaving the rest of the gang alone.

It was Sokka, oddly enough, that was the first to realize we were under attack.

“Blue flames?! What’s going on... Fire Nation?”

Wanting to reply, I was forced to push him to the side as a spear sailed through the spot he’d been standing a moment earlier before stabbing into the ground.

“Screw it. We’re going with plan B... Get them!”

Splitting up, the group spread out across the camp, using both the cover of darkness and the flames to their advantage. Sending a few flaming jabs their way helped reveal their presence, but failed to do any damage. It was all very anti Firebender... This wasn’t the first time they’d done this.

Hearing a splash of water, several more men came barrelling through the flames, covered in the very same mud they’d used to extinguish my fire earlier, keeping them from being burned.

Taking a step back, I threw my fist forward, sending a jet of fire out, only for them to duck under it, taking a few superficial burns in exchange for getting in close.

There was a loud whipping sound as Sokka, having taken the spear, smashed it across one of the men’s heads, knocking him to the floor.

Immediately, one of our attackers grabbed the downed man before splitting from the group, slinking back into the shadows.

Feeling a powerful gust of wind slam into me, my attention was temporarily drawn towards Aang who was quite literally running circles around the attackers, sending them flying while Katara, standing a little further down the beach, took command of the sea, sending powerful waves crashing into a few that’d tried sneaking behind her.

“Watch out!”

Pushing me out the way, Sokka was tackled to the ground by one of the attackers. Seeing a few others racing towards me, I changed my tactics.

Waiting for them to draw nearer, I weaved my way through them while, at the same time, lashing out with a quick succession of jabs that they wouldn’t see the point in dodging... Only to suddenly collapse as they passed by.

Forming a small ball of flames in my hand, I turned towards Sokka, only to find him pinned to the ground with a larger figure looming over. One hand covered his mouth as Sokka tried to say something while another held a blade against his throat.

“Unless you want your friend here a few inches shorter, I suggest that you stop.”

He was covered in hardened mud and had a few scorch marks across his body, but no actual wounds. Seeing a hint of blue furs beneath all of the dirt, I sighed.

Of course.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

He stared at me intensely. “And why not?”

I simply pointed towards Sokka.

Glancing down, he stared at Sokka for a moment. The flickering flame in my hand, shifting from blue back to its regular orange, allowed him to see the finer details of his face. Shifting his hand off Sokka’s mouth, he dropped his blade. “Sokka?!”

“THAT’S WHAT I’VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU!” Sokka squawked indignantly.

Recoiling, he pulled back, standing up. “Then that would mean the other one is...” Realization struck him. “STOP... STOP THE ATTACK. WE’VE MADE A MISTAKE. THEY’RE MY KIDS!”

Making my way over to Sokka, I held out a hand, helping him up while Hakoda eyed me warily… More specifically, the fire that was currently illuminating the beach.

Seeing the look his father was sending my way, Sokka grinned awkwardly. “Don’t worry, he’s friendly.”

“He’s a Firebender that took out four of my men... All of whom aren’t able to get up on their own.”

“Yeah,” Sokka chuckled weakly. “He does that from time to time... It’s not that bad, really. They’ll recover in a few minutes... An hour tops.”

Seeing Hakoda’s pointed look, I shrugged. “That sounds about right and... To be fair, you did try to smother me earlier.”

“You did what?!”

Glancing over my shoulder I found Katara staring at her dad with a furious look on her face.

“I assumed you four were Fire Nation scouts since there were two Firebenders,” Hakoda said, wincing as Katara stomped her way closer. “I know it’s not the best excuse, but–“

Stopping in front of him, Katara proceeded to pull her dad into a tight hug that was returned moments later. Squirming slightly, Sokka joined in.

“You’ve both gotten so big.” Pulling back, Hakoda laughed. “What are you even doing here?”

“It’s a long story,” Sokka replied, grinning from ear to ear. “It all started when Katara and I went fishing and she ruined my catch with her Waterbending–”

“Hey!”

...Burning...

Ghosting her brush over a small canvas, Mai stared down at the finished result and began counting the various mistakes she’d made. It hadn’t always been like this. Once upon a time, she was actually good at calligraphy... The top of her class even, not that she’d ever say that out loud around Azula.

But that’d all changed a few months ago when she’d received news about a certain ship that’d gone missing during a storm. Spirited away, the captain had said... Not that it really mattered. Most of the crew had survived... All except one.

It was stupid really. She’d only known Honō for a short time. He’d been extremely annoying, purposefully doing things wrong in an attempt to goad her into showing him the right way. If anything, she should be glad that he was gone... At least this way, he wouldn’t be able to bug her, but...

Ty Lee had cried when she found out and Azula... Mai wasn’t entirely certain what was going on with her. She stated quite confidently that he wasn’t dead, but this wouldn’t be the first time Mai caught her lying... It would, however, be the first time she caught her lying to herself.

“Bam!”

Slapping the canvas, Tom-Tom smiled up at her before doing it again, getting ink everywhere. Sighing, she handed it to him before grabbing a fresh one. It wasn’t like she was going to keep it anyway. At least this way, she wouldn’t have to deal with his constant whining.

Why her parents thought it a good idea to leave him with her while they went out, she’d never know.

Dipping her brush in a pot of fresh ink, she slid it across the paper, feeling more confident this time, only to suddenly be interrupted by a thumping at the door, causing her to make a mistake. Sighing, she put her brush down and got up.

“Stay here and don’t drink my ink.”

It wasn’t toxic, so even if he did, there wouldn’t be anything to worry about, but she’d rather not have to explain to her parents why her brother’s tongue had turned black.

Passing by a number of servants, she stopped at the front door and cracked it open to find a number of Fire Nation soldiers standing outside.

Great, now what?

Opening the door, she stared at the soldiers with a look that screamed she’d rather be anywhere else but here. “Yes?”

Coughing lightly, one of the more official looking soldiers stepped forward. “Is this the home of Ukano and Michi?”

Her parents? What did they have to do with this?

“It is,” Mai droned. “Why do you ask?”

Grabbing a scroll from his pocket, the soldier proceeded to unfurl it, before holding it out in front of her. From what she was able to see, it seemed to be a list of crimes.

“And this is?”

“A list of crimes committed by the male heir of your family,” The soldier answered. “Chiefly among them is treason, sabotage of a prison shipyard, freeing a group of Earthbenders and stealing the ship of one Commander Zhao.”

Mai froze. “What was that last one?”

“He stole a fairly noteworthy commander’s ship...” The soldier trailed off, staring as Mai’s ink covered little brother darted from room to room while giggling. “I’m sorry, who is this?”

“The male heir of my family, his name is Tom-Tom,” Mai said nonchalantly. “Feel free to take him in for questioning... I’m sure you’ll have a lot to talk about... Especially since he was somehow responsible for the destruction of an entire shipyard.”

“There must be some sort of mistake, the one we’re looking for is around your age and goes by the name of Lee, not some... Some toddler.” Unfurling the scroll further, he revealed a poorly drawn picture of Honō. “This is who we’re after.”

Despite the numerous mistakes made, Mai could confidently say that it was definitely him. The name, the age, the picture, everything fit. He was still alive… And had betrayed the Fire Nation. Why? Mai didn’t know, but she’d find out in time.

“Sorry, there’s no one here that looks like that,” Mai waved him off, much to the soldiers displeasure. “If you asked me, I’d say that the warden is looking for someone to blame for his own shortcomings and decided on my family. He probably chose the name Lee because there are so many out there already.”

“And Commander Zhao’s ship?”

“Stolen by the Earthbenders,” Mai shrugged. “It’s not like it’s implausible. If I were you, I’d wrap this investigation up as soon as possible. It’s a waste of my family’s time and it’s a waste of yours as well.”

 “I will need to check in with my superior,” The soldier hummed, unsure of himself.

“One last thing... I would like to keep the scroll,” Mai said, holding her hand out. “My father will be interested in what crimes some imaginary member of our family has supposedly committed.” Her father would never see it, but she wasn’t going to tell the soldier that

Taking the scroll, she closed the door behind her, not bothering to listen to the soldier any further. It was official, Honō had come back from the dead… In a manner of speaking.

Mai’s peaceful life was going to get far more chaotic… At least Ty Lee would be happy. She’d need to talk to Azula as well to see if she knew what he was up to since he’d left.