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Lauren let out a grunt of frustration, tossing the scroll away from her as she fought the temptation to just burn it right then and there so she wouldn’t have to look at it any longer. She’d been studying it for hours, attempting to follow along the positions step by step, but her movements never felt quite right .
“Oooh someone’s salty.” an amused voice said to her right. “What? Can’t bring the heat when I’m not around.”
Lauren groaned, her mood souring further.
“Oh I can bring the heat just fine thanks.” she said, turning to face her new companion with crossed arms and narrowed eyes, “Keep being obnoxious and you’ll get an up-close and personal demonstration.”
The man simply laughed as he continued to approach her. “Oh believe me, I’ve been on the receiving end of your firebending enough to know what to expect.” he said with a shrug, “I guess even the great firebending prodigy Lauren Sinclair has her off days.”
Lauren narrowed her eyes at him. If you told her a month ago that she’d leave her comfortable life behind to team up with the most infamous member of the most feared global terrorist organization in order to bring it down together, she would have laughed in your face. Yet there she was, out in the middle-of-nowhere Earth Kingdom, teamed up with Kieran White, the Red Puppeteer himself.
You wouldn’t know it from looking at him though. Outwardly he appeared to be your average waterbender, tan skinned, blue eyed and muscular. But he was arguably the most talented and brutal bloodbender in the world, known for leaving his victims as little more than broken, bloody bodies for the authorities to find. It was strange conflating the two personas; that the brutal killing machine who showed his victims no remorse was the same man who seemed to revel in immaturely messing with her, smirking whenever he got a rise out of her just like he was now.
Lauren rolled her eyes, “Well you certainly had a successful training session, didn’t you?”
“More than you apparently,” he said, still wet from his time training in the nearby river, droplets of water still clinging to the ends of his hair and running down his scarred, bronze chest. Seriously, couldn’t he just dry himself off with his bending?
Before she could ask him that herself though he was scooping up her discarded scroll that sat at his feet, opening it up and examining its contents before she could take it away.
“Give it back!” she cried, attempting to snatch it from his hands, but he simply turned and lifted it out of her reach.
“Lightning redirection?” he asked, sounding more curious than anything, eyebrows raised as he studied the diagrams in the scroll. “You’re having trouble with lightning redirection?”
“You’ve heard of it?” she asked, halting her efforts to take the scroll back.
He simply nodded, continuing to study the scroll intently, “Though I’ve never seen it myself before, and I’ve only seen lightning generation a handful of times from far away.”
That made sense to Lauren. “It’s an incredibly advanced sub-skill of firebending.” She said, “Only the most talented firebenders are able to generate lightning.”
Kieran chuckled, flashing her a sly grin, “So what you’re saying is you can generate lightning too.”
Lauren huffed, “You’re not the only one with a sub-skill or two under your belt.”
“I’d expect nothing less from the prodigy herself.” he said with a shrug before batting his eyelashes at her, “Care to demonstrate? Like I said, I’ve never seen it up close, and how am I to know if you can really do it or not?”
She was about to refuse him, to tell him that she was in no mood to entertain his curiosity and that she didn’t need to prove anything to him, but there was a part of her, very very deep down , that really wanted to impress him with her talent. To show him just how powerful and skilled she really was after hours of feeling like a failure.
She sighed, “Alright, but you’ve gotta step back. It can be dangerous to stand too close.”
He followed her directive without a qualm, walking several paces to her left to face her side.
Lauren studied her surroundings, looking to see where would be best to direct the lightning. The last thing she wanted was to start a forest fire or hurt anyone who may be traveling through the valley. While she was positive that she and Kieran were the only people for miles, it never hurt to be careful. She knew the destructive power of fire and lightning, and what it could do when its wielder showed no restraint. She would not let her fire burn this pristine valley down.
“So how does it work exactly?” Kieran asked, watching as she took the position, taking deep breaths to steady her mind.
“What do you know about lightning generation?” she asked, eyes trained on a point between the mountains in the blue afternoon sky.
He was quiet for a moment before responding, tone more matter-of-fact than she was used to, “I’ve heard that they call it the cold-blooded fire. That it’s different from normal firebending.”
Lauren nodded, “You’re correct. Your average firebending is built upon the breath first and foremost. It’s where firebenders draw their energy from.” she demonstrated a few quick moves, feeling the very air in her chest manifest into the flames that shot out of her fists. “This is often supplemented by our emotions. Passion, rage, joy; each of these and more can fuel our firebending.” she reassumed her base position, legs apart, knees slightly bent, back straight and deep breaths slowing her heart.
“Lightning is different though. Like the name ‘cold-blooded fire’ suggests, a firebender must go against their nature in order to generate lightning. Our minds and bodies must be still and calm, only then are we able to proceed. A skilled firebender in this state of mind can then begin to separate the yin and yang energies in the air. This creates an imbalance that continues to build until these energies surge back together and collide once more, generating the lightning. We merely facilitate the direction the lightning will take, but we can’t truly control it like a normal flame.”
And with that she paused, taking one last deep breath before she pointed her two fingers and began following those familiar circular motions until she could feel the energies separating around her, blue sparks trailing along the arcs she traced with her fingers, causing all the hair on her body to stand on end as it tickled at her skin. There was something about lightning generation that made her blood sing with anticipation; its own unique thrill that nothing could quite compare to.
She could feel the energies fight against her as she moved, desperate to become balanced again and loathe to be pulled apart, so once she felt as though she couldn’t hold it back any further she brought her fingers to her chest before extending her right hand up toward that point of clear sky between the mountains.
Crackling thunder boomed as the lightning streaked across the cloudless sky, flashing then echoing for several seconds after the bolt itself dissipated. Startled birds flew out of the trees, but within only a handful of moments it was all over, the valley returning to its normal, tranquil state like nothing had ever happened.
The sound of clapping to her left disturbed the peace.
“Impressive.” Kieran said, eyes wide in awe as he looked between Lauren and the sky as if the lightning were still there. “I’d hate to be on the receiving end of that. Remind me to never get on your bad side.”
You’re already on my bad side she almost said but chose not to, “Most who do get hit by the lightning don’t survive. That’s why learning to redirect it is such a useful skill.” She folded her arms across her chest, “We don’t know what sorts of people are being recruited by the Phantom Scythe. They could be amassing a whole squad of lightning benders. I need to be prepared to face them with everything I have.”
Lauren was expecting some sort of witty retort from him, that he’d tease her for her inability to redirect lightning and flaunt his own waterbending skills.
That’s not what happened though.
Instead she felt him come stand beside her, opening the scroll out for her to see as well, “So what’s the issue you’ve been having? Maybe I can help.”
She could feel how wide her eyes had grown as she gaped up at him, so stunned and confused by his offer that she almost forgot to reply.
“How on earth do you think you can help me with this ? It’s an advanced firebending technique, and the last time I checked you aren’t a firebender.”
“True, but surely you must have known that lightning redirection was invented through studying waterbenders, at least that’s what I’d always heard. Looking at this scroll and seeing your little demonstration only confirmed it for me.”
“Yeah but-”
“And the last time I checked,” he continued, pointing his thumb to his chest, “I am in fact a master waterbender who could provide you with unique insights and perspectives on the matter.”
“Ok I get it!”
Kieran continued to smirk at her, leaning in a little, “What do you have to lose? You won’t be any worse off than you are now.”
It infuriated her how correct he was, but she still hesitated to ask for his help. Yeah they had teamed up because of their shared goal, but he was still a murderer and criminal. Asking for his help with anything still felt new and strange.
But it was clear that it was what she needed.
“Alright, fine.” she said with a huff, “You can help.”
A radiant smile spread across the waterbender’s face, so genuinely appreciative that it nearly threw Lauren off.
“Great!” he said, examining the scroll once more, “So what’s your issue with redirection?”
She felt herself deflate a little, assuming the stance depicted in the scroll for what felt like the millionth time that day, “The forms seem easy enough, but the movements between them feel disjointed, not quite right.” she demonstrated her point to him, going through each form as it was depicted in the scroll; two fingers pointed outward to catch the lightning then guiding the bolt through her arm with her other fingers, bringing it down to her stomach before extending her arm in the opposite direction.
Kieran observed all of this in silence, listening and watching as she went through the motions with a neutral expression. She wondered if he’d even be able to help her. Yeah this technique might have been based on waterbending, but it didn’t mean that it would translate-
“No wonder you’re having issues.” he said, an amused smile tickling at his lips.
Heat began to rise up in her cheeks, “I was just following the scroll-!”
“Following the scroll incorrectly you mean.” he argued, his grin only growing.
“What’s that supposed to mea-!?”
“Come with me,” he said, interrupting her once more with a gesture for her to follow him, “You clearly need a lesson in the basics of waterbending.”
It was tempting to just ignore him and be done with all of this for the day, but she just let out a groan and followed his retreating figure down towards the river.
He stopped near the stony riverbank, watching as the river carved its way through the valley in its journey toward the distant ocean. It was cooler here, under the shade of the trees that grew along the banks, the sounds of rushing water and frogs filling the air.
Lauren saw him take up a similar stance as she had earlier, legs spread slightly, knees bent, back straight.
“I don’t blame you for not getting it right away.” he said, finally pulling his eyes away from the river to look at her, “Fire and water are pretty much the definition of natural opposites, so it makes sense that the basis and techniques for bending them are vastly different.” He turned to face the river once more, lifting his arms and moving them in a slow, circular arc, pulling a stream of water out of the river.
“Like this river, all waterbending is all about the flow of energy. We don’t need to use our own energy to defend and attack. It’s all about making our defence into our offence; turning our opponent's energy against them.” he bent the water into a circle around himself as he spoke, movements smooth and elegant with the ease of a master who was able to seamlessly manipulate an element. Lauren couldn’t help but be captivated by the long, soft movements, so different from her own firebending, yet holding a power all its own; the very valley they were standing in a testament to the power of water.
“You’re approaching this like a firebender: quick rigid movements that are perfect for shooting flames.” he continued, moving the stream of water around his body before assuming the first position in the scroll. “But if you want to guide that lightning, to take what is being sent your way and send it right back, you need to be more fluid, like this river.” he streamed the water back and forth, guiding it along his arm, down to his stomach and then up the other arm before beginning all over again, mimicking the path the lightning would take.
“Like this?” she asked, assuming the stance and attempting to mirror his more fluid movements.
“Better, but not quite right,” he said, bending the water back into the river before approaching her, “Here, let me show you.”
And suddenly Kieran was right there , standing behind her, calloused hands wrapping around her wrists and bare chest pressing against her back. Whatever new fluidity she’d gained was lost, tension welling within her at every point of contact and heightened at the feeling of his breath at her ear.
“This ok?” he asked, voice low and calm without a hint of his typical lightheartedness.
Lauren swallowed, repressing the shiver that threatened to telegraph just how caught off guard she felt, shocked at the way her body reacted to the waterbender’s actions.
“Y-Yeah.” she replied, attempting to keep her voice level even as he began moving her arms in the more fluid manner he’d demonstrated.
Lauren allowed him to guide her movements, gaining a better feel for what the technique required, sensing for the first time a path being created within her body for lightning to pass harmlessly through. But she was even more aware of the feeling of Kieran’s warm hands on her wrists, the tips of his rough fingers just barely brushing the bare skin near her wrists where her guards ended. The feel of his muscled arms enveloping hers as he guided her along, flexing and rippling with every movement. The slide of his bare chest, still wet from his earlier training, against her back. The way it reverberated with small sounds of encouragement as hot breath that tickled at her ear and neck.
It all felt akin to bending lightning again, like there were sparks dancing along her skin that made her blood sing with excitement and anticipation, but there was no lightning being generated, no spark to pull this reaction from her. There was only his proximity and his touch, which made no sense.
And then it was gone, that same touch little more than a memory seared into her skin as he pulled away.
“Lemme see you do it on your own now.”
It took her a moment to collect herself, to remember what they were doing and who he was: her partner who was attempting to help her master a new technique, and an assassin with the blood of countless victims on his hands.
She completed the moveset several more times, ignoring the burning sensation that lingered at every spot where his skin had brushed hers, focusing instead on tracing a fluid path across her arm, stomach and back again. “Better?”
“Much.” he said, a small, appreciative smile blooming on his face as he admired her form, “Though we won’t know how good you are until someone zaps you with some lightning.”
She felt a smirk tug her own lips, “Well, I hear that this region gets some pretty nasty thunderstorms…”
His own smile grew wider, astonished, “Wait, did you just make a joke ? Please tell me that was a joke.”
She was joking. Kind of. But she merely shrugged, her grin now wide, “I’ll need to get real practice in order to nail this technique.”
He was laughing now, blue eyes crinkling as he shook his head, “Please don’t. I’d hate for my new partner to get electrocuted before we make any progress.”
This wasn’t the right mood between them, this lighthearted back and forth filled with easy humour and prickling banter. This was how friends acted when they fooled around, or how lovers teased each one another out of endearment, and they certainly weren’t either of those.
None of it made any sense, not her reaction nor her delight at his, but it made something warm well up within her all the same.
Lauren sighed, “I guess this will have to do for now.” she felt her eyes catch trace along the hard, muscled lines of his body before they found their way to his eyes once more, “Do it again with the water. I wanna see if I’ve got the flow down.”
“Of course, the flow’s the most important part.” he said, assuming the form once more before flashing her a wink.
