The Avatar's Journey

A young woman wearing a red cloak in the village of Shu Jing slipped out of sight from the villagers that were hustling around peacefully and headed towards the thick trees that surrounded the beautiful village. There she came to two large wide trees with their branches covering a opening towards a waterfall she was heading to, climbing the tree with slight difficulty she finally made it to the large hole and moved its branches before climbing in and sliding down.

When reaching the end she gracefully landed on a wide thick black stone platform that was wet from the calm river that was rushing ontop of it. The woman slipped off her cloak and hung it on a convienent stone point before taking a few steps on to the smooth platform, with water up to her ankles she smiled remembering her home. Her master was right about this place and right now the young woman wanted only one thing and that was to let loose with some waterbending she was unable to do freely since arriving in the Fire Nation.

She had heard from the villagers that there was a wise and strong firebender residing at the village, but in her mind she figured someone that skilled is rarely at their home anyway. So in return she had felt very safe and secure here feeling as if no one knew about this so called secret place her Master from the Southern water tribe informed her about before she left home.

End of Kiara's Post____________________________________________

[Because I (Mattias) failed at moving a topic, the original post was deleted. So I'm just going to post what that post stated right here.]

The night is always silent... He stood on a cliff, looking over the edge at the valley below. An icy wind blew across the man, causing ice to coat parts of his cloak, as black as the night. His breath came out of his mouth, a slow steady breath, instantly freezing and was blown away with the wind. Gust after gust came. In the distance, the peaceful village of Shu Jing lay. A few flickering lights could be seen, but the forges had long gone silent for the day. The night is always silent... and all is well.

The man backed away from the edge of the cliff, his boots leaving footprints in the gathering frost. Turning, he let his back face the wind allowing his hood to protect his face. Closing his eyes, he brought his hands in an arc bringing them in front of his chest. As he did this, he slid his feet on the slick ground, spreading his legs apart. He breathed in deeply, letting his lungs warm the gathered air, before releasing it. As he did a small flame grew in his hands, growing into the size of his fist. It flickered, changing colors from red to orange, then back to red. Then without warning, he opened his eyes and with an explosive energy despite the cold he extended his arms. The fire spit following each fist, growing the whole time. A great blast of fire came from each of his fists, illuminating his face briefly. As the blasts reached their peaks, he brought his arms to sides angling his hands outward. The pillars of flames arced, forming twin circles on either side. Then it was broken.

A great screech rang through the air, piercing the dead silence of the night. The flames dispersed and in their last glow, a bird could be seen approaching him. Slowly it decended, before landing a few feet in front of the man. The man approached the bird, opening his hand. A small flame appeared in his palm, illuminating a tube on the back of the bird. Using his free hand, he opened the tube and pulled out the scroll. Slowly, with the glow from the flame, he read the scroll. A frown spread across his face, and he tucked the scroll into an inside pocket of his cloak before turning and walking away.

Kiara inhaled before taking a basic water bending stance. Her right foot was infront of her left as her left hand drew a simple line of water and her right guided it with a calm demeanor about it. But then suddenly her mind drifted off to what her master said and she stopped before even beginning to waterbend.

It is not going to be easy finding Masters to train you..only reveal yourself to the ones you know you can trust your life with..

The young girl sighed heavily, "Someone I can trust me life with..." her head whipped up to the sky upon hearing a screeching noise. It had to be some kind of bird, not hesitating she grabbed her cloak and slipped it on then had let out a chilling breath freezing a spot on the river which formed into a thick ice patch and jumped onto it before motioning her hands sharply and swiftly causing a water spout. As she shot up back into the thicket of the forest, above the forest Kiara quickly turned the large ice patch into a thin but supportable slope and froze it again before sliding down to the ground.

Kiara raised her hood over her head before looking at the ice slope and pushing her hand down gently as it came crashing back to the earth as water. Kiara had been staying in the village for a couple of months so she knew which path to take if she wanted to see who exactly it was that the bird was looking for or had found. Kiara went the way she was facing and not too long after walking she was on the path. Something inside her was pulling her towards the village as if it was telling her to wait there to see the newcomer. Always trusting her instincts she decided to do just that and walked back to the village and to the hotel she was staying at.

Before going up the stairs the manager of the hotel smiled in her direction, "Do you need anything Miss?"

"No, I am fine..thank you for asking though. If something happens do not hesitate to come tell me about it, thank you for your hospitality." Kiara smiled back in his direction as her piercing ice blue eyes locked with his normal brown.

"Y-yes ma'am.." The manager couldn't help but choke out as Kiara ascended upstairs, the eyes that mysterious young woman had were unmatched by any other female her age. As his partner joined him they began a conversation about the woman who had Shu Jing perplexed about who she was exactly.

He had been walking for over an hour now. His pants had frozen in places, rubbing uncomfortably against his skin. Not far away he could see the lantern that always hung in front of the gate of his home. As he approached, the design of the gate became visible in the dim, a lotas which was carved into the wood. He placed his hand on the door, feeling the shape of the image before opening it and walking through. Numerous torches burned casting an erie glow on the mansion that lay before him.

Entering the mansion, he walked over to an open fireplace that lay in the middle of the entry hall. He crouched in front of the fire, touching the end of a unlit log in the fire. Instantly it burst into flames releasing a wave of heat that washed over the man. He took off his coat, laying it on the floor in front of the fire to dry, before sitting in an armchair to look over the message again.

They are coming.

Without warning, a knock came at the door.

The man sat up instantly, accidentally releasing the note into the fire. Quickly he stooped down, scooping the note from the edge of the pit. Already it had grown warm. As he turned it over to put in his breast pocket he noticed faint lines coming appearing on the blank paper.

The door was knocked on again.

More frantically the man opened the note, reading the new words that had formed. They know. He flipped over the paper again, seeing the original side. A symbol had appeared. The message was clear. He opened his palm, incinerating the note. Then he walked towards the door. Calming his mind he opened it up just in time to see a blast of blue fire coming for his face.

It was his reflexes in the end that saved him. Without thinking about it, he pivoted himself on his toe, using the door to redirect the fire coming at him. Inches away from his face he could see the flames licking at him as they passed by. The smell of singed hair could not be mistaken. Looking through the crack in the hinges of the door, he could see a full complement of the royal guard in his courtyard, and there behind them was a figure that would haunt him for the rest of his days.

As he thought it, he heard the voice of one of the men, "Princess Azula, what are your orders?"

Her cloack was hung up on the rack next to the door as she walked out onto the balcony, the frost around the village and the cold air was something the girl was use to. But something was out of the ordinary in this village for her. The more she stood there the more unsettled something in her mind was, sighing heavily she ignored taking the cloak then looked at the manager as she rushed downstairs.

She just had to pass the irritating voice in her mind down to me....

"Sir..where is the abandoned mansion located?" Kiara locked eyes with him but this time it was a more hurried and determinded glare as she was oblivious of the workers passing and his friend standing there he was conversating with.

"There is only one path from here..follow it and you can't miss it..go out and turn right the just head straight." But before he could say anything else the woman thanked him and bolted out the door with the most determinded look he'd ever seen. "Wonder what is going on.."

Kiara started running as fast as she could but stopped as soon as a few shapes of people could be seen at what she thought was the abandoned mansion. As she saw blue flames hit the open door something inside made it seem like her heart just dropped..she had heard tales of the girl with the blue flames named Azula and it was more then hard to believe that she was really in the same village as her.

Kiara just stood there a bit in shock she was really seeing this all with her two ices, it wasnt like she blended in with the people here she clearly stood out but was reading to defend herself if anything happened, but her eyes caught the man that was standing infront of the door now. She could already tell he wasn't an ordinary person,

That has to be him...the one Gui was talking about

He didn't wait to find out what Azula's orders were, the very fact of her being here was enough for him to know that he should be somewhere else, and fast. Just as he came to that conclusion, he spotted a glowing blue energy growing in the center of the courtyard. His hair started standing up on end, and a static energy filled the air around him. This is not good... He threw himself back, rolling to the side at the same time. He could feel the charge build in the air. Just as he got out of the way, a bolt of lightning ripped through the air next to him, forcing him to shut his eyes from the intense light. It missed him, but only just. The bolt ripped through the walls behind him, starting a fire in the floorboards that lept up tapestries, spreading fast.

Pulling himself to his feet he looked to see the shadows of the Royal Guard marching through his doorstep. Trying to remain calm in all of the smoke and chaos, he looked around trying to spot... Yes! He darted across a burning patch of carpet and grabbed a long package that lay across an armchair. Without bothering to look back, he ran into the next room.

This room was filled with books, books about each nation, books that Azula would kill to get. The thought of what he had to do threatened to overcome him. He didn't have much time though. He ran to a shelf, climbing it quickly and pulled a single book off of it, older than the rest of them. So old that it was written in the Old Script, a long dead language that seldom could read. He turned to leave, then stopped. He raised his hand, felt the heat coming from the next room. With a deep breath he seized control of the flames, accelerating their growth, letting them rip through the wall and light the library on fire. He then quickly went through the next doorway.

This room was on the edge of the cliff that the house sat on. On the opposite side of the room, floor to ceiling widows ran the entire length, overlooking the top of a waterfall. Not waiting for him to think about what he was doing, he ran full speed at the window breaking right through it. He fell through the air, falling quickly towards the river. At the last moment he angled his body, and tucked the book into his cloak. Then he hit. Water rushed across him, he lost track of which way led to the surface. Bubbles raced around him. He started losing his vision, his oxygen was leaving his body. He felt around for anything to grab onto, but the stream pushed him down the river. With a last great effort, he kicked at nothing in particular. His foot caught a large rock, knocking his joint out of place, but he was propelled up, surfacing his head.

Kiara couldn't believe what was happening right before her eyes. All she could do was stand there knowing that if she were to help him that Azula would realize exactly who she was. She watched the man who was running for his life run deeper into the house. But what she couldn't understand was how fast the flames met him there..and that wasn't blue fire that was burning.

He is also a firebender... As Azula was calming walking back the way she came Kiara began to freak slightly, her eyes showed fear which was the first time in years the young woman quickly snapped out of it before quickly and evasively hiding in the brushes by the mansion.

When she felt as if the coast was clear Kiara stood infront of the burning mansion before running to the edge of the cliff, Where did he go? he couldn't have..jumped could he??? Her first instinct was to put out the fire which was inside the mansion so she looked around quickly before making a water tornado from the river and doused the fire as she closed her hands and the water just fell ontop of the mansion. Now that the fire was outshe could focus on finding the strange man.

Kiara jumped off the cliff but simply smiled as her serpent seemed to, as if on que, slide its way down the river. It stretched its neck out as Kiara slid grabbing hold onto its fin on it head before it bent down and shot down the river but slow enough for her to find the man. She was happy her pet wasn't full grown and was small enough to go down the river.

He couldn't have gone too far, I have to find him

The banks of the river flashed by. The current was strong, and the man was caught in the mercy of its power. Desperately, he flailed his arms and legs trying to grab onto the bank. Every time he grabbed something, the river caught him again and threw him away. He could tell that his strength was failing. Running out of ideas, he tried to get a mental image of where he was. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself just to be dragged along by the river. He recalled a part in the river up ahead that he had seen one time from his house. An island that was in the center of the river. He opened his eyes, looking downstream he saw the island coming up fast.

The island was small, and already he could see a problem. The current would drag him in the wake created by the island. He would not be able to wash up onto it unless he was in the exact middle of the current. Carefully he aligned himself in the river. Just as he neared the island, his arm caught a log that had gotten lodged in the bank, knocking him under again. Panic gripped him, and out of sheer desperation, he stuck out his arm. He could feel the dirt of the island slipping through his fingers. Just as he was about to settle for his fate, his arm got lodged in a root that had stuck out into the water.

Pain raced up from his arm, and his body slammed into the underside of the island. Slowly, against the current, he moved his other arm to find another handhold. His hand found another root. He pulled, dislodging his arm from the other root. Despite the pain, he brought his other arm forward, climbing upward. It was slow work, and his lungs felt like they were going to burst, but he eventually surfaced. Rolling onto the island, he started coughing, his body trying to expel the water in his lungs. He tried to sit up, but a strong wave of pain forced him to lie back down. That would be the ribs. His body may have taken a heavy price, but he had survived.

He let his mind wander as he let his body relax. Azula, how did she find me? They laid a false trail... With a start he realized the implications of what had just happened, There is a traitor in the order... Nobody is safe! A surge of adrenaline raced through him. He got to his feet, using a nearby tree as support. The pain was excruciating, but he gritted his teeth and continued to stand. He looked around for a way to cross the river and spotted a log that had fallen across the river. With a start, he realized that was what had submerged him.

He placed his left leg forward to walk, the as he placed his weight on it, it buckled and he fell forward, his face less than inch from the roaring surface of the water. He rolled over and stared at his knee. What he saw made his stomach drop. His lower leg lay at an awkward angle, Dislocated at the knee he reasoned. Leaning forward, ignoring his ribs, he probed his knee feeling the exact laying of the joint. He swore again This is going to hurt... He grabbed his leg and twisted and shoved the joint back into place. The pain exploded along his leg, causing him to howl into the air. His vision blurred and darkened, and he knew was on the brink of passing out. He lay back down, trying to clear his head. Slowly the pain ended and his vision cleared. He sat back up and examined his knee. It now lay in the correct position, and he let out a sigh. He once again stood, this time not putting as much weight on his leg, he crawled across the log onto the main river bank.

Kiara only wanted to find the mysterious keeper of what she thought was the abandoned mansion. The more her and her serpent slithered down the river like it was grass she couldn't help but feel a little sad about seeing what had happened to his home.

However, her main focus was on his movements when Azula attacked him. Even though it wasn't only but a few moves displayed she was able to sense that his skills far surpassed any normal bender of his kind. The part where he dodged Azula's attacks also played in her head. How can someone dodge her attacks like that? He was not only quick but used his surrounding as an advantage. Kiara quickly shook her head slightly trying to get the image out of her head until she sighed heavily, "Maybe he didn't jump after all.."

Her serpent Kai moved its way to the right of the river bank before letting her off. She smiled and let him wisk away with the river before she had started walking down the side of the river bank. As if out of nowhere the girl heard a howl not like any animal but it sounded of pain. Kiara simply thought the river was just making her paranoid about the man.

That was until she continued to walk along the riverbank and step over a stiff log..well what she thought was a log was actually the mans leg. She gasped looking down at him and kneeling on his right side Kiara helped him sit up bending the water in the vines along the trees of the riverback she helped him lay his back on the cushion now wrapped around the trunk of the tree.

"Where does it hurt?" Kiara kept her head down, it had just hit her that her cloak was back at the hotel that was provided for her.

He had collapsed on the other side, his strength leaving him as soon as he finished the crossing. He lay there, time slipping away. The silence of the darkness with the distant sound of running water.

The sound of a cracking twig echoed in his head.

He opened his eyes, catching the sillouete of a person kneeling over him. As the person spoke, he realized it was young woman. "Are you hurt?" He saw her hand reaching out to him, moving towards his wounds. Faster than the eye could follow, his hand lashed out, grabbing her wrist in a strong grip, despite his weakness. He stayed like that for some time, ignoring the pain, searching in the cloak of darkness for her face.

The darkness was relentless, mostly masking her face. It didn't help that she was deliberately avoiding direct eye contact. The few details he could see, brought along a sense of familiarity. Just as he was trying to piece together the images he was seeing, his strength finally failed him, and the world closed itself off to him, the blackness overcoming everything. He continued his grip until finally he completely lost conscience and his hand relaxed, and his hand fell onto the ground beside him.

Kiara jumped a bit when he had grabbed her hand despite his strength failing him in his time. Her first instinct was to pull away but feeling safe she just let him grab her wrist as she continued to talk, "You're going to be okay now..just rest."

As the young man searched in the dark cloak for her face she simply waited until his eyes were halfway closed knowing that he was going to pass out before removing her cloak as her ice blue eyes looked into his half closed ones.

When he had finally laid there unconscious she stood before looking around and trying to figure how far was somewhere for him to rest was. It was not like she could walk into a nursing center and leave him there knowing about Azula attacking him like a crazed animal. Kiara managed, but with a struggle at first, move the man on her back making sure she did not injure him further. As Kiara walked threw the forest at night a familar sounding voice started speaking to her.

Go left..and then you'll run into a clearing, in that clearing there is a small estate that has been adbandonded.

She was spooked but being more concerned about the individual on her back the girl did what she was told and no sooner then she did she had seen for her own eyes the estate itself. It was made from brown woods and from the outside it looked as if it had been home to someone who had always kept it in mint condintion. But she assumed as years passed that its condition fell short. Some of the windows where cracked as she approached the door but when she nudged the door open with her foot the air was stale. Everything was dusty but could be cleaned and used in a matter of time. There were several items as if someone just place the estate here for her use only.Kiara quickly laid them man down on the bed before looking around.

Kiara had taken off her cloak setting it on the chair pushed into a desk that was covered with books and dust looking for a cloth that she could wet. The young girl was greatful as a small pond was in the back filled clean water and bringing her hand up making a waving motion a thick whip of water swirled itself around before sliding in the bowl she had taken out. Kiara grabbed a cloth out the dust covered drawers wetting it before setting it on his head. Now it was time to get to the hard part.

She decided it was best to treat his wounds quickly with a bit hesitation she slid his shirt off carefully but swiftly and asessed his wounds before placing her hands in the bowl of water and then placed them on his chest then from there to his ribs to heal his bruises and lastly his knee. Her blue eyes carefully and slowly followed her hands and judged the work she was doing before moving onto the next health issue when finishing completely Kiara found some bandages and wrapped his chest and leg before pulling the blanket over him and going on to complete the next task.

When finishing her work she began to clean the estate little by little and afterwards took in her accomplishment and finally leaned against the doorframe of the room the man was in before closing her eyes and resting for the night.

Images kept flashing in front of his eyes...

A women kneeling over him... Being dragged... A shack, long abused by the weather... twin blue orbs...

The images kept on coming, often being shown in different orders. Eventually another image came to him. A room, blurry, the sound distorted. Slowly it focused, and he could see a room, layers of dust on shelves and tables. Curious, he sat up, a fresh wave of pain coming across his body. He laid back down.

So not a dream...

He looked down at his chest. Something made him curious, the pain that had afflicted him was not that of cracked ribs... He opened his shirt, carefully and examined his chest. There were numerous bruises, but no sign of severe damage. Carefully and slowly he used his fingers to probe each individual rib, there was no cracks, fractures, or breaks.

What on earth?

Closing his shirt, he sat back up, ignoring the throbbing in his head. Looking around he could see that he was in a small shack, with only a few rooms. Quickly he glanced around, looking for... His eyes locked onto his cloak, scorched, but very much intact. It lay in a lumpy pile in the corner of the room.

He reached for the bedposts, pulling himself to his feet. He slowly made his way to the cloak and felt around for what was inside it. He found the long package first. He was amazed it was still with him after the jump, and that whoever brought him here hadn't taken it. He opened it up and quickly examined the contents of it. Setting it aside, still open, he reached into the cloak and pulled out the book. The clasp on it was unbroken, and the book itself had been protected by his cloak from the water. He placed it back in his cloak, then went picked up the package. It was slightly over a meter in length, and opened up by two sliding boxes.

Opening the box, he threw the lid in a corner and picked the object out of the foam that protected it. It was sword, with an elegant pale silver blade. On the blade were carvings that seemed to make no sense. To the mind it seemed to be random designs, yet the subconscious of the mind would always see some form of pattern. Hidden in the pictures were words written in the Old Script. His eyes followed the length of the blade to the hilt. The sword was a hand and a half sword, meaning the hilt was slightly larger, allowing the sword to be wielded by one, or both hands. In contrast to the blade, the hilt was made from a black leather of a high quality. The pummel of the hilt was made from metal, treated so that it too was black in color. Inlaid into the pummel was a dark red gem. Carvings circled out from the stone, only visible when the light reflected off of it just right.

He stood up from the bed, a new found strength building in him. He reached into the box and pulled out the sheath for the sword, which was a simple black color, hiding the complexity of the sword it carried. He attached the sheath to his belt, then sheathed the sword. Kneeling down, he picked up the cloak and put it on. He then picked up the book and hid it on a shelf. The faded binding of the book blended in with the sustained bindings of the few books that were on the shelf.

Walking out of the room he saw somebody asleep on an old couch. Silently he approached the person. The person's hair covered their face, and he carefully brushed it aside. What he saw made him inhale quickly. The person was in fact a young women, from the face structure he could tell she was not from the fire nation. The face was too smooth, not the normal accented features of his people. My people, what a joke. He placed the hair back, covering her face, then picked her up. Carefully he carried her into the other room, placing her on the bed. Silently he walked away, then went outside. He stood out in front of the house and clasped his hands, memorizing the landscape, trying to figure out where they were. As he did so, time seemed to slip away.

The young woman had shifted her body on her side as her hair covered her face while she slept. It was safe to say that this was the first time in a while she had slept this peacefully since arriving in the fire nation territory. Kiara was far too deep in her sleep to even feel the man move her hair out of her face then move it back where it was, and also for him to pick her up and set her in the bed.

She opened her eyes tiredly seeing his back as he walked out the room and shut her eyes again before registering what she had just seen. The girl jumped up quickly but eased her way to the door opening it then standing in the doorway just watching the man and analyzing what he was doing. She couldn't come to terms what or how he was doing it but she didn't want to interupt.

Before she knew it however her lips had already begun to move as her eyes were set on the man, "I take it you are feeling better. That was quite a hassle you went threw." She then shut the door behind her and smiled a little, "I'm glad you are okay though.." She then smiled a bit more, "Where are my manners, I am Kiara of the Southern Water Tribe. I saw what had happened and healed you up to the best of my abilities. You still might be a little sore however that should fade within a day or two."

The man heard a sound coming from behind him. Cocking his head, he listened as the woman came up behind him. He could feel her eyes staring at him in the darkness before she finally spoke.

"take it you are feeling better. That was quite a hassle you went
threw."

He listened as the door quietly shut behind her.

"...I'm glad
you are okay though... Where are my
manners, I am Kiara of the Southern Water Tribe..."

His mind flashed back to her face and he smiled slightly, The Southern Tribe... of course. He had once visited the southern tribe, a long time ago when he was a different man.

"...I saw what had happened
and healed you up to the best of my abilities. You still might be a
little sore however that should fade within a day or two."

Instantly she had his full attention. She had seen what had happened. He glanced one last time at the landscape before turning and faced her.

"And what exactly did you see Kiara?" His voice came out in a low voice, almost a whisper. There was a hint of curiosity, and a hint of something darker.

Kiara had instantly went into a defensive mode upon sensing his reason to know what she had exactly witnessed. But she was also able to tell that some of his reasoning behind asking was that he was just curious.

"I saw everything like I said..from you opening the door to her attacking."

The girl took a step forward before setting her hands on her hips as she looked at him right in the eyes, "You are a firebender are you not. I can barely see you, light up the place so I can see who I am talking to exactly." But before she continued on she made sure that her eyes were fixated on him and nothing else.

"I noticed that you have yet to tell me your name." She frowned a bit but her eyes locked with his again before she said one last thing, "What I witnessed would not be shared with anyone. That I promise."

He watched her, then raised an eyebrow when she accused him of being a fire-bender. Observant...

"My name is Mattias."

From within his cloak, he pulled out a candle, lighting it with flint and steel. The dim glow from the flame partially illuminated his face. Parts of his face was still cast in shadows, but his eyes reflected the flame burning. Very briefly his eyes locked onto hers, then he turned away, looking once again at the landscape.

"How much do you know about the woman who attacked me?"

Kiara's eyes hard looked away from his once he lit the candle. She looked at his facial features making sure his face was imprinted into her memory. But when they had locked eyes for that brief moment she was able to tell that Mattias had been threw many hardships even though he was still young.

"It's an honor to meet you."

Kiara took another step forward before standing about three feet away she disliked talking to people when they had their back turned but she was sure that he had a legitimate reason for his actions tonight. When he started talking again she simply thought hard about how much she really knew.

"I know she is the princess of this nation..and her name is Azula. My master told me the tale of her and her father bringing down the past avatar. He also told me to be very careful during my journey as well. He fears I may be captured."

Kiara then realized she had said too much about what her master had feared and was glad she didn't say as much as she did. She figured Mattias was a very smart young man.

Throughout her talking, Mattias kept his face expressionless. Not that he needed to as his back was to the water bender. His mind flashed back to all of the water benders he had ever met, trying to remember a bender that would match Kiara's story of her master. Trying to piece things together, he asked

"What is a water bender doing in the Fire Nation?"

Something about this woman bothered him. He could place why, something about her seemed... different.

From behind a cloud, a full moon came out, illuminating the land in an eerie glow. With the help of the moonlight, he could see where exactly they were. In the distance he could see a great cloud of smoke that had started to fade away. That was where the ruins of his house were... He looked to the left, spotting the town.

"..I am looking for.."

Kiara hesitated as her mind and heart were debating whether or not she should tell this man who she really is and why she was there. As the clouds seemed to evade the fullmoon making its light beam down on the earth Kiara felt a sudden boost of energy. She didn't know if this was a coincidence seeing just as the moon appeared her mind was made up whether she was going to tell him or not.

"Mattias.."

Once again she was finding it tough to really tell him who she was but for some reason she felt very comfortable with this man as if she could trust him with anything she had said. Kiara inhaled greatly before letting out a breath slowly. Her eyes shifted where his would have been if he was facing her and as he turned his head left toward the town her lips seemed to be moving again before she thought about it.

"I...am looking for a firebending teacher. To teach me how to firebend. I am...." Kiara seemed to be calm as she finished her sentence hoping he was going to believe her. " The Avatar."

His nostrils flared. A sense of danger raced up his back. His whole body tensed at hearing his name. Something didn't add up. She only just met me, and I know that the villagers don't know my true name. They only know me as the Master...

He relaxed only slightly when she admitted that she was looking for a fire bending teacher. He had just started to calm down, when she mentioned she was the avatar. Not good...

He turned on her, eyes flashing in the darkness. The glow from the candle grew, but instead of lighting up them, the shadows on his face grew. Without speaking he spun looking straight at the ruins of his house. Suddenly he understood what was wrong... The house is still there... He once again spun on the Avatar.

"What did you do to once the fire benders left the house?"

The anger made his voice sound like a roar. His eyes glared into her's. Hidden in his voice was a hint of fear. His fists clenched.

Kiara tensed as soon as she felt the atmosphere around the two change with pure negative energy. She really did not know what to say to the man now that she had finally seem to catch his full attention.

"...A voice came to me while I was in solitude and told me where and who I should look for the teach me firebending..."

The girl backed up a bit more towards the small pond going into her offensive guard as she decided it was smart to start explaining herself more.

"It led me here..to you, and when that happened, " The young woman pointed to the direction of the town and his house, "It led me to this shelter to heal you."

But as he began to talk she instantly knew she had done something wrong and had a feeling it was about to go downhill from there. Please do not let this end the way I think it is.. Kiara had just stared the man in the face but all she was seeing was shadows taking away the light and replacing her image of his face with a dark one.

"I put the fire out, that place is nothing but burned wood by the time I even decided to put it out.."

The young girl simply walked past him and headed back to the village figuring he did not want to be in her presence anymore. But a little part of her was sadden by the fact she had found a tough firebender to survive such a fall as that however it seemed as if he was having issues of his own. Her facial expression wore her emotion as her blue eyes continued to look ahead as her feet lead her back to the village.

Mattias swore under his breath. The fire was meant to burn... otherwise something could have survived. He barely noticed the as the Kiara walked past him. Instead, he broke out into a full sprint towards the mansion...

...Arriving but out of breath, he fell into the ashes of his house. Looking around he spotted the various rooms. With great effort he pulled himself to his feet. He unsteadily walked into the library. He instantly knew something was out of place. The ashes had been piled in the corners of the room and bootprints were all over. Somebody came back... He looked around for any hint. Up against the charred remains of a bookshelf he could see a footprint that had a build up of dust around it. Somebody stood here for a long time. He looked up spotting a couple half burned books. He looked on one of the covers and found a little bit of metal stuck to the covers. He closed his eyes trying to picture what could have done that. He snapped his fingers. He had a book with a metal binding on it. But what was in it he couldn't remember.

"Looking for this?" A voice behind him spoke in a snide voice.

Mattias pivoted, instantly reaching for his sword. He was interupted mid-draw by a small blast of fire scorching the shelve next to him. He let go and let the sword fall back into its sheath. He then looked at the person who spoke. He swore...

"It has been too long Azula." He tried to keep his voice level. A blacked metal book was in her hand. He expanded his senses trying to find anything to use to his advantage.

"Three years Matt. Three long years. Every day I imagined finding you again... and then a weakling in your order let slip that you were here." The pleasure in her voice was unmistakable.

Inwardly Mattias felt a stab of pain. Another person in the order had been killed or corrupted by the Fire Lord. The order was shrinking quickly. Once again he regained his composure.

"What are you doing here Azula?"

Azula laughed, making Mattias automatically tense. It was at this point he found his way out.

"I came to find you... and give you a gift." She gave a smile that seemed one of kindness and caring.

"What sort of gift?" Mattias was now only stalling. Behind his back he was manipulating his fingers, waiting for the right moment...

Azula's face instantly locked, all emotion gone. "This!" She brought her two fingers forward, lightning arcing around her hand. It was at this moment that he acted.

His action was swift and devastating. He clenched his fist. Instantly every wall around them exploaded into flames, all racing towards Azula. Caught between creating lightning and defending she was forced to drop the book. In the time it took her to continue her attack Mattias drew his sword, and sidestepped out of the way. The lighting bolt impacted on the wall behind him, blowing a hole leading to the side of the cliff. Before Azula could attack again, he dashed forward and flicked his sword, causing the flat part of the blade to hit her head. She crumpled instantly.

Without hesitating he picked up the book and burned the insides of it to ash. The metal frame dropped to the ground.

Then once again he jumped out of the new hole in the wall. This time, not worried about stealth, he let himself free fall. Then at the last instant he blasted a massive amount of flames, stopping his decent. He landed on his feet then dropped to one knee, with his hands on the ground. Looking around, he picked himself up and started walking towards town.

Kiara didn't seem to mind as Mattias rushed past her or so that was what she had let on. The girl continued to stare at him running back towards the town until Mattias was ultimately gone from her sight. With a heavy breath Kiara seemed to think about whether or not she should stay in the village since she had indeed told someone who she was exactly.

"My mind is made up..I am leaving tonight."

She shifted herself gracefully onto another path that lead to a field opening, the only thing that she could really do was just lay on the hill and stare up at the sky. Kiara was thinking that maybe the world really didn't need her help.

That man did not need my help...so why should I help others?

Her eye lids shut as the gentle breeze seem to caress her face as it blew east. The rustling of the grass made her sit up however; feeling that she was not the only person that was enjoying the fields calming nature. Kiara shook it off and set her head on her legs as she brought then up to her face wishing that the gift she had was given to someone more responsible then her.

"How am I ever going to find a firebending teacher when that is who I am up against?"

He had wandered the canyons for over an hour now. Without his home, the world felt more sinister. He knew he couldn't return to his house to rebuild, for fear of the forces of Azula coming back.

Most of the time he looked up at the stars, letting their light guide him. A sound came from behind him. His hand almost a blur he drew his sword and pointed it in the direction. From behind a rock jumped out a small animal that quickly retreated. Sighing to himself he sheathed it, then continued.

He knew he still needed to rest, and he had little friends left in the Fire Nation that he could still trust. Looking up at the stars to get his bearings, he headed back into the village.

As he got closer to the village, the canyons melted away into the vast plains and vegetation that surround Shu Jing. As he merged from his personal path to the main road, a shudder ran up his spine. Somebody was nearby. Today is not a day to take chances. He closed his eyes, feeling around him for possible heat sources. The would changed in his mind. He could see all of the trees with their small amount of heat that was produced. Below the ground he could see the colonies of various animal and insect life... and just about fifty meters away, he could feel a large source of heat.

Opening his eyes he looked in the direction, then back at the path. Cursing quietly at his choice, he slowly walked towards the source. He moved slowly so as not to make any noise. A familiar presence surrounded him. He came to a clearing, and spotted the source. Instantly he recognized her...

"This is the second time we have crossed paths water bender..."

Kiara just continued to look onto the stars as if she was looking for all the answers to her questions in the starry sky. Her ice blue eyes scaled from the sky to the hill clearing as she sat up.

Most of the time by now if something had happened Kiara would have left but for some reason something inside her was telling her to stay put. It was not like she had always listened to that voice but for some reason she just wasn't able to really ignore it for it was not like a nagging voice but more of a guidance.

A simple defeated sigh escaped the girls lips before fixing her hair bow. It had a small charm that was shaped like a cresent moon that her mother had given her on her death bed. So it ment a lot to her thought no one would really notice the charm unless they took the time to really gaze at her facial features.

After hearing a voice the young girl quickly turned her head upon hearing where the source was coming from and just stared at the same man she was with not too long ago.

Why does he feel the need to bother me..he couldn't just looked to see who it was and left without any issue.

Kiara laid back down looking over at him still before smiling just a bit,

"This would be the second time wouldn't it? May I ask why you feel the need to speak to me again?"

Mattias frowned. Clearly the woman did not understand his statement. Whether it was by choice or not.

"I feel no need, yet you crossed my path again. Do not forget that it was you who originally came to my house."

This water bender was becoming more and more annoying. What was she even doing in this spot, let alone the fire nation. His eyes searched her, taking in every detail, trying to make sense of the puzzle laid out before him. He did not believe in coincidence, and more importantly he never stumbled across anyone... So why was he now?

He clenched one of his fists, his knuckles turning white. Agigtation filled him at this occurence, and he knew he could walk away. Curse my curiosity.