27 Heat Bending

After defeating Pakku, who is considered one of if not the best water benders in the world, Xiao didn't know what to do. He had around a year before he could go look for his master, Iroh, again and he didn't know what to do during that time.

So he did what he normally does when he is bored or has nothing to do- try to improve his bending!

He had been mulling over two concepts as of late, those being lava bending and heat bending. It should technically be possible, since water benders can control the temperature of whatever liquid they are manipulating, why can't Xiao do the same with his flames?

This brings up new questions, like is a cold fire possible?

However, he needed a starting point before he could pursue this new idea, so he went to Pakku, a master of an element that incorporates fluctuations in temperature into its own style, for help.

"You want to know how we change liquid water into ice or steam? It's quite simple actually. We just envision it solidifying, cooling, or heating up and it does exactly that." Pakku replied upon hearing Xiao's question.

'Well now I feel like an idiot for asking. That's such a simp answer!' Xiao thought to himself before smiling and bowing slightly.

"Thanks Master Pakku!" He said lightly. "Whatever kid, get out of here." Pakku replied with a smirk.

Xiao nodded and left.

"Hey Xiao! What are you up to?" While Xiao was leaving the courtyard where Pakku held his lessons, Yue suddenly popped up beside him, startling him slightly.

"Oh! Yue! I was just about to practice a new bending idea! How are you doing?" Xiao asked as they started walking together, shoulder to shoulder.

"I'm doing good. A new bending idea you said? That's so cool! Can I watch?" Yue asked excitedly, strolling in front of Xiao and leaning in close to him with her hands behind her back, making her look up slightly. Xiao looked down at her puppy dog eyes.

"Sure!" Xiao said, smiling.

Yue smiled too, but before she went back to being next to Xiao, she realized that their faces were so close together that their noses were almost touching.

Yue and Xiao are both fifteen years old, and are same height as well, both standing at five feet five inches.

Her face heated up slightly and her cheeks reddened. 'Now that I look, he is actually quite cute…' she thought to herself, her face getting even redder.

"Yue? You alright?" Xiao asked after she didn't move and just stared at him, her face getting more and more red.

"Oh! Yes I'm fine!" Yue replied with a smile, jumping away slightly and putting on a smile, trying to calm herself down. 'Stop thinking like that, he's your best friend!' She berated herself internally.

After spending so much time together over this half-year, Yue and Xiao had become really good friends. This, paired with the fact that he was her only friend, gave Xiao a special place in the princess's heart.

After that they walked in silence for a bit, and Yue seemed to be pondering about something. They eventually reached a courtyard Yue's father had set up for Xiao to train in. It was completely made of stone, so he wouldn't damage anything when fire bending.

Yue sat on the side on her butt, hugging her knees and resting her chin on them as she watched Xiao stretch.

"Okay! Let's try this!" Xiao said excitedly, a ball of flame appearing in front of him. 'Cold. Freezing.' He thought to himself, envisioning the flame getting cooler. It took a while, but eventually the violet flame started deepening, becoming darker and darker before turning a light blue.

After that, the sky blue slowly turned to normal and then dark blue, before turning green, and then yellow, and then orange, and finally red. At this point, Xiao was sweating, this is way harder than he thought. It took a massive amount of focus and effort to slowly drain the energy from the flame, reducing the heat while keeping it the same size.

The red flame started darkening further, turning a light grey. At this point, Xiao took his other hand and reached out to touch it. He felt warmth, but it wasn't enough to burn him. Taking a deep breath, he focused even harder.

The light grey ball of flame became murky, the color becoming darker. Finally, it turned black. At this point Xiao was shivering. Not only from effort but also because… The flame was cold! Like freezing! To the point where it felt like ice touching his skin!

"Woah! That's so cool!" Yue said, strolling up to Xiao and gazing at the flame, feeling the cold from five feet away.

Xiao finally extinguished the fire and put his hands on his knees, catching his breath. "I didn't think I could do it, and even when I did it took and ton of effort. I'll have to work on that!" Xiao said as he took a breather.

Yue nodded.

"However, I think it was more the amount of focus it took to make the flame more than anything. Once I get used to the feeling, I doubt it will take much energy at all!" Xiao added, standing up and wiping his brow.

"Wanna eat? I can make us some sandwiches." He asked Yue.

"Yes please!" Yue said, beaming happily. Xiao smirked smugly and lead her to the palace's kitchen, where he started making sandwiches using the materials available, which weren't great but still worked.

Yue sat on the counter next to him, humming happily.

'Time for more training!' Xiao thought to himself grimly. Though he liked getting stronger, the constant training was getting boring. He'll take a break after this for sure.

At that, he stopped thinking about it and started teasing Yue about her possible arranged marriage, laughing as she pouted and whined about him being a "big meany."

——————

I'll ask again.

Xiao x Yue???

I think they make a cute couple.

This is the first time I've written romance and I think it's going well!

Anyways, I'm back and ready to write!

Smell ya' later!