At the park (Open)

Kazami felt her Yami's hand get placed on her shoulder. It felt warm. She suspected that since she just controlled fire. Yami asked that if she was afraid of her fire. She bit her lip and frowned unsure of how to tell her. Maybe she should start with the lightning bender she saw? "Yes. I am afraid of your fire." Kazami began, "My old temple got attacked by fire benders when I was really young. I saw them kill an air nomad with lightning right before my eyes. They burned down everything without even hesitating." She was afraid this would happen. Her eyes started to form tears in them. "They killed off my whole family, and. and. Th-they even did this to me." She spread her hands out to her legs trying to show the paralysis. Now talking about the whole situation out loud made her very sad. She put her hands up to her face and started crying. She heard the buzz of Aria flying and felt her soft fur against her body. She was sure that Aria felt her sadness as she has done before. Taking her hands away from her face, she hugged Aria with one hand while wiping her tears away with the other.

Yami wanted to kick herself. Wow, you're so smooth, you made the girl cry. Shut up. I was just trying to ask a question, I didn't realize that it would bring up memories from a horrible past! As Yami thought this, she sat down next to the wheel chair, pondering as to what she could do. She wasn't used to the situation, but she felt a need to comfort Kazami. The only problem was how. She had no idea what to say, she had never really had to do this before. She straightened, realizing that she could say something. She looked over at Kazami, who was hugging the spirit. Yami stood, thinking of how to begin.

"You aren't the only orphan," she said, remembering that dark day from her childhood. "You see, my father, he never loved me. Not really. He would pretend, but I knew that he disliked me from the moment I was born. He was looking forward to raising a strapping young man, but he ended up with me instead." She decided to leave out the bit about her father having Yami fused with Kokuo, thinking she would die in the process like so many others. "I used to live in the Northern Air Temple, actually. But we moved to a small village when I was a baby. I don't remember anything about the temple. I hope to go back someday." After the sealing was complete, Yami's family was exiled, fearing the demon that was now a part of the little girl. Little did those royals know, Yami would become one of two surviving heirs to the throne. Her mother was the princess, somewhat indirectly. Her father, however, was a firebender, and the brother of a leader of an assassin organization. He and Yami's mother fell in love and were married in the air temple. They were welcome to live there, and would have stayed if not for the shocking turn of events.

"We moved to a small village in the Vermilion Empire, and that's where I grew up. My father started drinking when I was about four, and soon after started beating me. After the first beating, I tried to hide from him, but I realized that if I hid, he beat my mother instead. But, bless her heart, she still loved him and had faith that he would correct his mistakes. Instead of letting my mother get her heart broken more with every crack of his belt, I practically volunteered myself. I took the beatings for her for two years. When I was six, my father lost his job, and wandered into a mystical forest by the village, depressed and heavily drunk. Legends said that few who entered the forest came back, and those who did went insane. My father returned the next morning. I heard him come in and walked out of my room to meet him, only to witness him murder my mother." She fought back tears, remembering the terrible scene as if it had happened that morning, rather than ten years before.

"He turned to me and I screamed. The look in his eyes...it was a look of pure insanity. He raised his blood stained sword and charged at me. I ran back into my room and locked the door. I looked around for a way to escape. I was too short to climb out the window, not without stepping on something, and I knew that would take too long." She reached behind her head and grabbed her bow. "You see, my father was determined to turn me into a warrior, even though I wasn't a boy. He taught me archer with a small bow, one that a six year old would be able to use. The bow was sitting in my room, and I picked it up, holding one of the twelve arrows. He burst through the door, his eyes darting about the room, looking for me. I jumped out of the closet and....and I fired the arrow." She paused and breathed deeply. "I didn't expect it to be a deadly hit. That little thing hardly had the power for a fatal blow. Still, the arrows are sharp, and the arrow pierced his heart, abruptly ending his life. My uncle, who lived next door, told me to run away. I left everything behind, and I would have starved to death if Fireball hadn't found me in the woods one day." It had been a while since Yami had told the story. This time, she thought she was prepared for the emotion that came after, but she couldn't stop the two tears, one from each eye, that trickled down her face.

She watched through blurred tears as Yami sat down next to her. Yami told her that she wasn't the only orphan. She had no idea that Yami was also an orphan. She listened how Yami told her that her father disliked her and beat her. Kazami was shocked. Living with the teachings of peace from the air nomads, this was very surprising. How could someone be so cruel? When Yami told her about how she couldn't let her dad beat her mom when she hid and took on all the beats, it reminded her of how her mother protected her from the fire benders. Kazami found it unbelievable that she took on beatings for 2 years. Who does that without reporting it to the law enforcers or something? Then again, she was only 6 but what about her mom? Yami told her about her dad wandering into the mystical forest and coming back insane. She found it horrible that she had to witness her mother's death especially from her own dad. Being only 6 years in age and being scared of her dad since a very young age, that must have been terrifying. When she told her that she ran to her room she wondered how a 6 year old would handle this. Would she fire bend? Would she run? Yami told her about how she grabbed a bow and arrow drawing it back and hiding. What really struck her was when Yami said that the arrow pierced his heart. Kazami could not begin to imagine the guild she must have felt killing her own father unintentionally and the guilt she probably felt now. Although people can be jerks, she doesn't believe that anyone should deserve death as punishment no matter what they did. Life is a gift that should not be tampered with. Kazami saw a few tears trickle down her cheek. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. Here I am crying about a fire nation raid and you just saw, well, you know. And the thing you did... I'm really sorry that you've had these experiences. Nobody should ever have to deal with that. It must have felt terrible." Kazami didn't know what else to say. She had dealt with personal issues in the past with others but nothing as drastic as this. Nothing as drastic as seeing your dad kill you mom and you kill your own father and have to constantly be on the run.

Yami looked up at Kazami and forced a smile. "For the longest time, I felt like the worst kid in the world, killing my own father. But as I got older, I realized that it was for the best. If I hadn't taken his life, he would have taken mine. In fact, I should have been dead years ago, but the universe just has a way of working out." She stood again, and forced a smile. "I don't regret what I did. I know it wasn't right, but I also know that it was for the best." Yami thought about how she ended up coping with the loss. "I came to realize that what happened in the past can't be changed. I can't go back and fix things. So, I stopped worrying about it. I still haven't forgotten that day, but I have learned to live with it, rather than suffer." She sat down, thinking it odd that she kept standing and sitting. She realized that she wanted to run around and do something. She wasn't used to staying in one spot for very long.

She looked out to the West, watching the sunset. A thought occurred to her, and she turned to Kazami. "Hey Kazami, when is the next full moon?" Yami had a hard time keeping track, but she figured Kazami might know. It was always important to be aware when there would be a full moon.

Kazami was puzzled by the fact that Yami didn't regret what she did to her father. Even though she would have died, Kazami would rather die than kill somebody, especially her father. Even if her dad was an abusive, insane jerk. She could never live with the guilt. She agreed with her that what happened in the past could not be changed and that you should live with it rather than suffer. Kazami always tried to make the best out of her paralysis and not live feeling sorry for herself or looking back on everything bad that happened to her in the past. Yami asked her if she knew when he next full moon was. Kazami thought for a second and then answered, "The next full moon will be on the 30th of January. So on a Wednesday I believe." Kazami was curious why she wanted to know when the next full moon was. Perhaps a full moon was somehow an important sign or date to her? She didn't know and probably wouldn't find out. Perhaps it was best if she didn't ask.

(I'm adjusting the date for story reasons)

Yami cringed. Two days. She had two days until the next full moon. Or, rather, two nights, as the current day was already coming to a close. The sunset was beautiful, but left Yami uneasy. She had to find a place to stay in two days, or the entire temple could be destroyed. "Do you know of any inns around here?" Yami needed to make sure she would be indoors when the moon rose. If she were caught standing in the direct moonlight of the full moon, all heck would break loose. Her body would transform, and she would wreak havoc throughout the temple and the surrounding villages.

Over the last couple of years, after Yami found out about Kokuo being sealed in her body, she began to notice weird desires to destroy during the full moon. Then, one night, she lost control of her body completely and went on a rampage, destroying everything in sight. The next month, she tried staying indoors, but when she fell asleep that night, her mind was filled with vivid nightmares, and she woke up in a cold sweat. She tried to stay awake, but no matter what, she always succumbed to sleep, and thus the nightmares continued.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the beautiful Yami," Yami spun around, facing a man about a year older than her. She scowled. He walked up to her and put his hand on her face. "Come now, surely you don't hate me that much," he said, running his hand down her face. She slapped his hand away. "Go find someone else to harass, Luke." Yami hated him. His father had tried to abuse her power multiple times, and he had forcefully kissed Yami twice while she was chained and helpless. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. Immediately, he yelled and jumped away. "Still as feisty as ever, I see, Your Highness he said, beating the flames off of his shirt. "Go fall off a cliff," Yami said before freezing him solid, but the damage had been done. She looked around, but thankfully Kazami was the only one who would have heard him say "Your Highness".

Yami asked if there were any inns around. She knew of a few ones. "There are quite a few here but a good affordable one would be the Peaceful Winds. It's just around the corner." Kazami said pointing in the direction of the inn. A man approached Yami and said hello to her, but in a kind of sly, evil way. The man put a hand on Yami's face but she slapped it away. Obviously Yami has had a bad history with him or just hated him. She said, to go find someone else to harass and also said his name was Luke. Has he really done such bad things like harassment in the past? Luke commented that she was still feisty and called her "your highness". Yami froze him and told him to go fall off a cliff. Kazami thought that she was only a fire bender. How could she freeze him? This was only the skills of a water bender. Also, why did Luke call her, "your highness?" Was she actually royalty? "First, off." Kazami started. "How can you also water bend and why did Luke call you. 'your highness?' " This really puzzled Kazami. The only person possible of bending more than one element was the avatar.

((OOC: Actually, on this site, there is a regulation that any character can learn a second element provided they are over the age of 18 and have suffered tremendous emotional and physical suffering. But still, Yami is a special case, given she is only 16))

Yami bit her lip, trying to think of a way out of the conversation. Finally, she sighed, looking around to make sure nobody was watching. "I suppose I should have mentioned that the reason that I lived at the Northern Air Temple is because I am a Princess of the Air Nomads, and currently second in line to the throne. And the reason we moved away? My father thought that by having a demon sealed within me, I would die. He wasn't so lucky. I survived, and my family was exiled, fearing that if I remained at the temple, I would bring about destruction and chaos." Yami looked over at Luke, still frozen in place. The sun had fully set now, so it wasn't likely that he would thaw before daybreak. "I wanted to keep it a secret. I have caused so much pain because of the demon. She takes over my body, and fills me with unspeakable power, which, consequentially, also enabled me to water bend." Yami demonstrated by holing a small sphere of water in her hand, freezing it, and causing it to burst, sending little bits of ice flying. 

"Please, Kazami, you can't tell anyone that i'm a demon, and nobody can know that I am a princess. I'm not ready to be sent back to the northern temple. I'm not worthy of the title anyway." she sat on the ground next to Kazami's wheelchair again. A very sad mood settled over the trio, and Yami felt, once again, shrouded in darkness. "I keep running because I have to. If I ever get angry, or I am caught in the light of the full moon, the demon, Kokuo, takes over my body and destroys everything in sight."


(OOC: If i'm putting too much into one post, let me know and I will let things play out slower)

Kazami heard Yami's story. About how she is a princess of the Air Nomads and how she is second in line for the throne. She was shocked to find out that her father tried to kill her by putting a demon inside of her. Yami said that this demon allows her to water bend. She also told her that Kazami shouldn't tell anyone about her being a demon and that she's not worthy of being a princess. Also, if she ever gets in the moon light or very angry, she will destroy everything in sight. Kazami put her hand on Yami's shoulder. "Yami, you are not a demon. Demons are evil and so far, you haven't done anything evil that I saw. It's not your fault that your dad sealed that demon inside of you. I'm sure eventually you can control the demon and you know, not reek havoc on everyone. I think you are worthy of being a princess. I'm not saying you have to go back but I think you will eventually. You have my word that I will not tell anyone about any of this." Kazami truly did think that Yami was not a demon and that she was worthy of being a princess. Although she may have a demon inside of her and she killed her own dad, that wasn't any of her fault. She had no control over it. "You know," Kazami began, "If the demon didn't kill you, maybe if you really try, you can seriously make the demon not have control of you anymore." This could be possible, maybe not likely, but from what Kazami heard, Yami was a strong girl who could possibly do this.

Yami wanted to believe all of what Kazami was saying. She wanted to believe she could truly change. She wanted to hope that she could one day control the flaming power within her. But she felt so lost already, she felt as though there was no way to get out of everything she had done. "The villages I've burned down, the countless people I've killed...I don't know what to do anymore. I have to keep running. Local law enforcement in villages everywhere knows who I am, at least what I look like. How can I erase everything? How can I ever become a good ruler?" Yami looked up at Kazami with pleading eyes. She wanted more than anything to repair the damage, but she didn't think it was possible. She didn't know it yet, but her chance to redeem herself was closer than she thought.

Yami looked around, trying to find a way to dispel the deep sorrow she felt. It seemed to be contagious. The air itself felt sad, as though the temple itself were reacting to Yami's emotions. She felt a longing for comfort, and realized that there was a being that could bring her comfort. She remembered her earlier promise to Kazami, and stood up, bringing her fingers to her mouth. She let out a shrill whistle that caused some nearby birds to take flight. A black figure flew down out of the sky and landed near Yami. The area was illuminated by large lamps that were lit at sundown, so the figure of a dragon was visible. Yami ran over to him, hugging him. "Hey, bud, did you miss me?" She asked, as though she were able to have a conversation with the dragon. Fireball was looking curiously at Kazami. "Oh, where are my manners? Kazami, this is Fireball, my dragon and closest friend. Fireball, this is Kazami. She lives up here."