"Fire is the most difficult element to control," Zyga said, "so it's best to start with stopping fire." She continued, taking a leaf from a nearby tree. She held it with both hands and the center of the leaf sparked. She passed it to Naomi. "This exercise is all in your head. Concentrate on keeping the fire from the edge of the leaf." She smiled at Naomi's expression. "I know it's boring, but it's essential. You have to be able to stop fire before you can create it."

    Naomi tried to focus. It's like earthbending. You have to be immovable. Don't let the fire do anything but stay where it is. It seemed to work. The fire wasn't spreading. Just breathe. She thought, every time it tried to go beyond where it was.

    "Nice job." Zyga said after a few minutes. "Do you think you have that one down? It looks like you do."

    "Yeah. I think I have it." Naomi said. She looked at the leaf, which was still green around the edges.

    "Alright. Firebending comes from your breath, so try focusing on the leaf. Just breathe in and out. The breath becomes heat, which becomes energy, which becomes fire. Try doing that with the leaf." Zyga coached. Naomi took a deep breath and exhaled. "Remember, firebending isn't something you can direct beyond your first shot. Try to make sure it stays in your hands."

    The leaf burst into flames and was soon gone, but so was the fire. It disappeared with the leaf.

    "Let me try again." Naomi said. "It was working."

    "Okay." Zyga said, setting up another leaf. However, after several tries, the result was no different.

    "One more time." Naomi said, focused on the leaf in her hands.

    "One more," Zyga said, "then we'll try something else." Naomi nodded. Breathe in, breathe out. The result was no different, however, something distracted Naomi from her frustration.

    "You're a firebender too?" A voice came from behind her. Naomi whipped around. It was Nova, the young girl from the shop. "Wait a minute. That means- You're the avatar aren't you?" Naomi looked to Zyga, who shrugged.

    "Yes, I am." She said.

    "That is so cool." Nova said. She looked as though she would go on, but she was stopped by another person coming up behind her.

    "Nova! You can't just run off like that!" It was Nova's older brother, the one Naomi had seen briefly in the shop.

    "Xano! She's the avatar!" Nova said.

    "What? Her?" He said, pointing to Zyga.

    "Um, no," Zyga said, "her." She said, pointing to Naomi. Xano turned to face Naomi, shock written on his face. He quickly composed himself though.

    "My apologies, Avatar, I will be escorting my sister home immediately, she will not bother you any longer." Naomi tried not to laugh at the formality he'd taken on.

    "She wasn't any bother." Naomi said.

    "Nevertheless, I shall be taking her home." He said, bowing awkwardly, before leading his sister away, back down the hill towards town.

    Naomi and Zyga shared a laugh after that.

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Later that night...

    Naomi and Zyga sat around their fire. After a few more hours of firebending training, they had discovered that while Naomi could block fire just fine, her summoning and going on the offensive with fire skills were nonexistent.

    "I just don't get it!" Even just holding fire doesn't work! I'm the worst avatar ever." Naomi lamented.

    "It's okay. You're just frustrated, right now, and you are not the worst avatar ever." Zyga said.

    "What's to say I'm not? I've never done a thing that's avatar worthy in my life, and I can't even figure out how to firebend!"

    "The avatar worthy bit isn't your fault, you've been kept under lock and key pretty much, for your whole life. As for the firebending, it was only your first day. Not to mention that fire is the opposite of water."

    "She's right." A familiar voice said. It still startled them though. Nova appeared from the trees at the edge of the clearing. "Waterbending is all about using your defense to turn an opponent's force against them. Firebending has a lack of defense and is more intense and firebenders are generally on the offensive." Nova said. "Being an avatar from the water tribe, you would have learned a waterbender's mindset. Fire also is more aggressive, and I'm getting a sense that you aren't on the offensive much."

    "She's good." Zyga said, nodding approvingly at Nova. Nova gave a smile in return.

    "That makes sense." Naomi said. "And your right about me. Zyga's right, you are good. If you're right about the rest of it, I'll need to change my mindset for this. Which might take awhile." Naomi admitted.

    "Moving on, what are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" Zyga asked Nova. Nova averted her eyes.

    "You're out here, aren't you?"

    "Nice try, but really. We're traveling and doing our best to stay out of the public eye. You're a citizen of the Earth Kingdom who has a home just down that hill." Zyga said.

    Nova looked up, defiance in her eyes. "You're right, I am a citizen of the Earth Kingdom, but that place down there is not my home. That's where I live, and where my parents are, but it's not my home."

    "Why?" Naomi asked softly.

    "Why? Do you have any idea what it's been like? Both of my parents are benders, and so is my brother, who's now a master, and who I've grown up in the shadow of. Then there's me, a non-bender, who broke the generations long train. I'm constantly treated like a disappointment! Oh sure it's subtle most of the time, but it's always there. I've waited for an opportunity like this to come for ages!" She calmed down a bit before continuing. "I came here to ask if I can come with you."

    Naomi and Zyga exchanged looks of surprise. The firelight danced off Nova's features, defiance from her eyes now stretching across her face, but combined with something else. Pleading. Every word Nova said was true. She was desperate.

    "Why come to us though? I mean... we're both benders." Naomi said.

    "Like I said, I've waited a long time for an opportunity to get out of here, and away from them. Also," Nova took a deep breath, "you seem like you're trustworthy. Like you wouldn't shun me because I'm not special." Naomi felt her heart lurch in her chest. That was how she wanted to be seen. She couldn't turn her down. Naomi looked over to Zyga who wore an expression similar to the one Naomi knew was on her own features.

    "Well I've been banished, and Naomi's a runaway, so I've got nothing against another of us in the group." Naomi nodded, and Nova's smile lit up the night better than the moon.

    "However, you'll need to stay with your family for another day or so." Zyga said, then hurried on before Nova could object. "We can't get out of her until Ruby wakes up." She said, gesturing to the dragon. "And she needs more rest right now. If you stay here, your brother will guess exactly where you are, and any chance you have of getting out of here is gone."

    "I'll come back to the shop when Ruby's ready to go." Naomi said. Nova's smile was gone, but she seemed to understand, and she nodded, before melting back into the trees that concealed her from view as she ran back towards the town.

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I know Nova isn't an Earth Kingdom name. That will be explained.