Spitfire [Open]

The sun blazed down on the small village of Shu Jing, the quiet village located through the beautiful landscape of Vermilion’s mountains, rivers and waterfalls. The atmosphere exuded peace and tranquility but Nyla was everything but this. She hiked her way, with torn and dirty silk clothing, up the familiar mountain trail, mumbling and cursing under her breath.

She had just stormed off of her father’s estate after a huge fight. Nyla had finally confessed that she wanted nothing to do with Ministry of Vermilion, all she wanted to do was to learn fire bending. However, her father simply lashed out at her explaining that in his family, bending was for men.

The memory burned brightly on Nyla’s mind, her fingertips ignited unconsciously from the anger.

Nyla had approached a clearing in the mountain that revealed Shu Jing in all its splendor.  The view was breathtaking, as it always had been, but for the first time Nyla was starting to get sick of it. “I’ve got to get out of this place.” She whispered, mostly to herself.

Her mind started racing, she thought about her father, she thought about her mother and about how her life was being planned for her. She felt something burn on the inside of her stomach, an anger, a passion starter growing until it felt like she couldn’t hold it in anymore.

She screamed out in frustration and as she did, fire erupted from her lungs and out of her mouth in a great ball of flames. She stood in the clearing, heaving wildly as a stir of anger and frustration swirled in her mind.

Ace was using his fire-bending to fly around the Shu Jing village in the Vermillion Empire. "I would kill for some sort of flying animal right now..." He said to himself. He didn't really have a destination, but sometimes using fire-bending day and night got tiring. He looked around for a place to rest-

Suddenly, in the distance, Ace saw a giant burst of fire coming out of a mountain. "Might as well." He said, flying at full speed towards the mountain.

Ace got close enough to the mountain to see a girl, presumably about his age, shooting fire from her mouth. He went down and landed behind her, tapping on her shoulder. "You uh...you ok?" He asked.

“Ah!” Nyla yelped startled and turned around. She had been through this trail hundreds of times and not once had she met a traveler pass through it. As she turned around, she was surprised to see a young man standing idle behind her. She was a little embarrassed that he had witnessed her little tantrum. She tried to fix her long hair and gather her composure, but it was evident that she was rattled by something.

“I’m fine.” She lied, eying the man. She was curious as to how he had found this trail. Was she so caught up in her own emotions that she didn’t even notice the man behind her?

“How did you get up here? This trail is pretty closed off.” She sounded more accusing than curious. At the same time, she was cautious. She didn’t know who this young man was or if he meant trouble.

"I flew....using fire-bending. How did YOU get up here?" Ace asked. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful the girl was, even though she was covered in dirt. "Are you sure you're ok? You don't seem ok to me. In fact, It seems like someone's caught in a little emotional troubles...judging by how you bended that fire out of your mouth. Look! I can do it too!" He said, bursting a spout of fire from his mouth, in attempt to impress the girl. He scratched his head awkwardly. "So...what's your name?' Ace asked.

He flew? Nyla had spent most of her life either indoors or as far away from benders as her Father could get her. She had seen the amazing display of bending once or twice, but she had mostly read about it. It was pathetic how secluded from bending she had been, living in the Fire Bending Capital of the world.

She couldn't believe he had flown up to the mountain. "I-I--" She stuttered, feeling a little embarrassed at admitting she had hiked when he had used his fire bending. "I hiked." she shamefully admitted.

Nyla pouted when the man started going off about her feelings. Was she really this transparent? "Of course I'm sure! That's very blatant of you asuming--" Nyla was cut off when suddenly, a blast of fire much greater than hers escaped from his mouth. The display took Nyla aback while the heat warmed her face.

Impressed didn't even begin to cover it! Nyla was amazed! This man couldn't be older than she was and he was such a skilled bender. A little dazed, Nyla had almost forgotten all about her troubles. "M-My name is Nyla, Nyla Maaka." Her eyes twinkled with amazement. "How did you learn to bend like that?" She asked, caught up in the moment.

Ace smiled at the fact that he'd successfully impressed...Nyla. What a pretty name. "Nyla...rolls right off the tongue. My name's Ace Kyoko. Not too hard to say, go ahead, say it with me. Ace...Kyoko..." He said slowly. "My dad taught me. A long time ago. But enough about me, let's talk about YOU! Where did YOU learn to bend." He asked. He didn't want to say it, but her bending was quite inferior to his.

Nyla perked a brow when Ace instructed her to say his name with her. "I'm pretty sure I can manage." She quickly replied, as he mouthed his name a second time. It felt a little childish to repeat his name along with him, but she could tell he meant no offence. Ace seemed like a pretty easy going guy. He was quick to answer and she could sense honesty in his tone.

A small frown grew on her face when he explained that his father had taught him to bend. Nyla wished her father had shared his knowledge with her and for a short moment, she envied Ace. "Your father sounds like a great person." She honestly said to him, a hint of sadness in her tone.

Nyla bit her bottom lip. She thought of a witty reply or a fake story to tell him, but what was the use? Lie on top of lie is a dangerous mountain to climb. Besides, you can't really expect honesty from others if you're not honest yourself.

"I don't know how." She shamefully confessed. "Things just happen when I'm upset, or excited. Flames go everywhere, I have no control." Her gray gaze fell to the floor. "I wasn't meant to be a Fire Bender, I guess." She added, a little defeated. "You must think I'm pathetic, Nineteen and I can't even start a fire on my own."

"You're not pathetic." Ace said simply. He pushed her chin back up with his hand. "My face is up here, not down there." He said chuckling. "You just need a little push in the right direction." Ace continued.

Nyla was surprised when Ace's fingers lifted her chin. He was certainly bold and although red flags rose up in her mind, she was tired of living cautiously. Instead of offering a strongly worded speech about personal space she instead flashed him a smile.

"More like a shove in the right direction." She joked, joining in on his laughter. Her happiness quickly dwindled away. "My father would never allow anyone to teach me." She confessed. Nyla's troubles were slowly coming back to her, with a little groan, she kicked the floor, a thin layer of dust rose. "I'm so sick of this place!"

Suddenly, an idea popped up in Nyla's head. "Do you think you can teach me? she rummaged around through her pockets. "I can pay you."

"I could teach you." Ace said. "But you don't need to pay me, it's fine-" Ace was interrupted by rustling in the bushes. He spun around. Looking in all directions, he realized what was happening. He opened his mouth to speak, but before something could come out, an arrow came from one of the bushes, aiming for Nyla. Ace ran and shoved Nyla out of the way. A few people came out, dressed in raggedy clothing. "Bandits." Ace said quickly. "Get down, I'll handle this. There were about 4 or 5 of them. Ace took his sword out, and aimed it at one of them. Blue electricity emerged from his hand, onto the sword, and shot out at the one who'd shot at Nyla. At the sheer sight of this, the others ran, leaving the one, steaming, on the ground. Ace put his sword away. "That was easier than I thought, although they probably ran to alarm others nearby. Could we take this somewhere else?" He asked.