Her Rising

Looking back I see the house I spent the last few years in, burning to the ground. Their screams are still ringing in my ears, dancing along the streets. The shouts of guards sound out as they run in the house and try to save those inside. I grin as I think on the feat I accomplished, a long time dream come true.

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40 minutes ago, 3rd person *TW: Child abuse & gore(kinda)*

A girl with short and dirty black hair can be seen shivering in a small room, chains on her arms and legs holding her to the wall. She grimaces as she hears a person slam open the door to her so-called room. "There you are, just where we left ya." The girl closes her dark brown eyes so that the person doesn't see them roll. It would only cause her more pain if he saw it. Unfortunately, she wasn't lucky this time.

"You dare roll your eyes at me?! I come home from a long day of work and then I deal with your shit?!" The girl's dark brown eyes fill with mirth as she's given up on playing along. She begins shaking the chains that are holding her. "What, did you expect me to be somewhere else, brother. I mean, look at these chains! These things are enough to hold back a Shirshu."

She holds a look of mockery, even as the man unchains her and drags her out of the room. She would love to put up a fight, but past attempts have shown that she doesn't stand a chance against them. If only she could bend... looking up she sees the other two, completing the trio. "Well brothers, mother, it would seem that I am due another beating. Please do go easy on me, my burns from last time still hurt."

As always, she watches as their faces morph into anger. "SHUT UP! One more word and we'll kill you!" She rolls her eyes as if daring them to do it, 'They're too cowardly to actually kill me.' Just like before, she feels the heat radiating off of her eldest brother. But this time is much hotter than before. Her eyes scan over him and watch as he forms a ball of flame, large enough to coat over her whole body. She gives a wry smile, 'ok, that may be enough to actually kill me...'

Her eyes focus on the fiery orb when they suddenly glaze over. A heat starts rising from her core, getting hotter and hotter the more she focuses on it. 'Why now... I've tried my whole life! When I'm finally ready for it to end this happens? Focus, just focus. Remember what your old teachers told you...'

She focuses on that warmth around her and the sweltering heat her brother is giving off. She waits, her eyes scrunched closed as she waits for her brother to act. Her eyes snap open, and she watches in slow motion as her brother throws the ball of flame towards her. She alters the fire to go around her, and back towards the trio in a larger flash than her brother.

"Ah!" Her brother screams, being the closest of the three his clothes caught fire. The other two got off with being temporarily blinded by the flash. With a wicked grin etched across her face she lit two balls of fire on her hands and threw them at her brothers. With neither being able to dodge the attack, the fire splashes against their faces. At the least, they'd get off with a nasty scar.

The girl sifts her eyes onto the next target, her mother. She's already lit another ball in her hand when her mother blinked and saw the scene. She watched as her child threw flames at her, and watched as they wrapped around her in a tight hold. The last thing she saw was the satisfied look on her daughter face.

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Present time, 1st person

I stop running, the guards too far to find me, and let my body get the air it needed. "I- I can firebend... I did it..." I whisper to myself, still processing what just happened. "I'm free, after three years, I'm free. From this point on I'll never take someone else's shi-" I look around and see that I ran to an even worse part of the city than the place I just came from. All the houses have chipped paint, if any at all. There are scorch marks all along the street, and not a single guard in sight. "Oh shit..."

"What's a lady like you doing out here at night, and all alone at that?" A smooth yet high pitched voice catches my attention. I look over and see a kid, about my age, walking out of a dark alley. He has long brown hair and bright green eyes.

"What do you want?" My voice comes out steady, stern, and hoarse. I would love some water right now. The boy lets out a chuckle, snaps his fingers, and two more kids come out of the alley. Both boys, again, looking the exact same as the original. 'Triplets?'

"You're on our turf girly, so you better pay up." How threatening.

"Funny of you to assume I have anything to pay, I mean do you see the clothes I'm wearing? You'd have better luck robbing trash." The three are baffled by me as I walk over to them. "Can any of you bend?"

To my question, two of the triplets step in front of the original. "Alright, let's make a deal. I join your group for a bit. That way you get another bender, and I get people to spar with. Deal? Good, now where's your base?"

I turn and start walking down the alley they came from when streak of flame flies past my head. "And what makes you think we accept your deal?" Rolling my eyes I turn back to them. "Think about it, the risk is minimal for you. Even if I do try and attack you, it's two versus one. More than that, I can help you and I don't have a reason to betray you." That got them thinking.

The lead pulled his two brothers into a huddle, and discussed for a minute. Giving them their privacy I start playing with my new ability. Forming a flame in one hand I toss it to the other.I feel as the heat gets closer, and stop it just above my hand. I throw it back, this time a little faster. I throw it back and fourth getting the flame as close to my hand as I can without getting burnt. I do this little game until I see them stand from the huddle, and I let the flame flicker out.

"So, we decided that you can join us. However! This wont be some short deal, alright? My brothers will spar and train with you, but you have to help us as well." Sounds fair enough, so I nod agreeing to their terms. "By the way, what's your name? Mine is Wao, *he points at the brother next to him* this is Max, *he points at the last triplet* and this is Lilo. Lilo and Max can bend, while I can't."

"Well, my name is Homare. Also, I won't really be able to tell the difference between you boys." At this Lilo and Max grin while Wao's eyes twitch. Lilo pulls Max back a bit and they put each other's hair in a different style. Max put Lilo's hair into a high ponytail and Lilo put Max's hair into a man-bun. Wao just kept his hair down while his eyes were still twitching.

My brow raises as I look at Lilo, "Uh, is your brother ok? His eye is twitching... a lot." Lilo turns to look at Max and squints his eyes before turning back to me. "Nope, my brother's eyes aren't twitching. I don't know who you are talking about. Do you know Max?" Hearing his name, Max gets a good look at Lilo and responds. "Yeah, my brother's eyes aren't twitching. Who are you talking about?"

Is this a joke? I don't get it, and I'm not amused. I point my finger at Wao, who looked on the verge of exploding. "Him, his eyes are bugging out." Following my point their eyes swept onto Wao. With a smile in his voice Max goes, "Ohh, you meant our sisters eyes!" I nod my head, finally happy that they realized the issue. "Yup! Your sister's eyes have been- your sister's... sister... Ahem. I'd like to issue a formal apology, sorry."

Lilo and Max bust out laughing, holding their sides as if they've been punched. Wao is shaking less, and has settled down. "Well, at least you apologized. Hmpf, don't let it happen again. Now lets get going, you have to get settled in." Wao disappears into the alley followed by Lilo and Max, I quickly follow behind them. The walk isn't long, just a few turns and we stop at a door. Wao pulls out a key and opens it, soon slipping through the door and into the room darkness.

Lilo and Max step through the doors and instantly cut through the gloom of the room with a series of flames. After each shot a different candle was lit, letting me see the interior. A low table in the middle of the room with circular mats surrounding it, taking place where the chairs would be. To the right of the table is a rug. If I were to walk directly forward from the door, past the table, I would come up to a half wall that separates the kitchen from the living room. To the left of the kitchen is a bathroom. If I took a left at the table, however, I would come across some doors, that lead into bedrooms if my guess is right. And that's all, small but practical.

Wao took her seat at the head of the table, farthest from the door, and spread her arms. "Welcome to our headquarters, treat her nice."