a/n: Written for pro-bending circuit 2015 under the prompt 'write about a character's first time bending.'

Word count: 1966

Today, I have decided to reflect on my life every night before I go to bed.

The orphanage manager told us once before that the great benders said: "Reflection is one of the most crucial aspects of spirituality." Even though I don't think I'm a bender, reflecting on things might help me become a better person.

But I don't know what to reflect about; I don't even know who I am. Like most people in the orphanage, I am a young castoff girl, a nameless face with no home and nobody to care for me.

Even the other orphans here make fun of me. They always tease me for being tall and having a large scar on my forehead, but it's not my fault! I wish someone in the world wanted me. The orphanage is a dark and mean place.

–

I wish I was a bender. Maybe then, other people would like me and compliment me more.

Most kids who are still in the orphanage are non-benders because all the bender children have been chosen already. It's so stupid! Why do adults have to be the ones who choose everything? Why do they get the power to choose whether of not we have parents? They get to make all the rules, and they get to punish us when we are bad, but I never get to punish any adults if they're mean to me. Because being nice to grownups is one of the rules that they created.

Maybe, everything would be better if there weren't any rules.

–

Today, one of the children called me a 'Third-Eyed Freak' and threatened to burn me. I don't understand why they want to make fun of me so much, and I don't know why the orphanage manager doesn't try to stop them. He's a fire bender and he can stop the kids, but I don't think he likes me either.

But that's fine because I don't care about any of them! I hate them, and I hate this place!

Tomorrow, I'm going to run away and never come back.

Maybe I can even sneak on a ship and go to Republic City! Maybe I will find some people who want to be my family! Maybe when I get a lot older I can get married! And when I have children, I'm going to let them do what they want to. They'll be allowed to be free.

I deserve to be free too. Everyone should be free.

–

I'm so angry! I almost succeeded last night but now I ended up right where I started. At this horrible orphanage.

Last night, when I snuck into the nearby town, a group of boys with masks were following me around and scaring me. I told them to go away but then they laughed at me and one of them offered me candy. I was kind of suspicious, but I didn't think it would be too bad because one of the children in the orphanage told me it tastes really good. Like the fruit that we get to eat sometimes, but a lot sweeter. I never got to eat candy at the orphanage before and I wanted to try some too. I'd always been curious what it would taste like.

I must say, the candy did taste really great! But I still regret trusting those creepy boys. The candy made me really tired but something made me think that I shouldn't fall asleep. So I tried to stay awake even though they told me to take a nap. But they got mad about it and tried to throw me into a cabbage car. It was really scary.

They were really mean and slapped me in the face, a lot harder than the orphanage manager or any of the children ever did, and then they called me a bunch of mean things that we weren't allowed to say at the orphanage without getting our mouth washed with banana pepper soap.

And then, an amazing thing happened! I got really scared and tried to punch them back and fire flew out of my fingers! It was super flamin'! Now that I bent for the first time, it felt like I suddenly opened the door to a furnace in my belly and all the heat came flooding into the rest of my body. I was so excited that I almost forgot where I was!

But the mean boys didn't really like that. One of them was a fire bender too and he burned my arm, but I still felt happy because his fireball wasn't as big as the one I threw back at him. I managed to run away a little, but they grabbed me by the back of my shirt and threw me on the ground and I hit my head. Then, one of them choked me with my shirt and I couldn't bend any more fire.

I thought I was going to die, but suddenly my forehead started to burn and one of the boy's shirt burst into flames! His friend got mad at me though. He pulled out a knife and came at me and I tried to do that forehead thing again, when suddenly, I heard a shout and the boys all ran away.

Then, I turned around and saw a man with fancy clothing get out of a carriage and walk over to me. I thought he was going to hurt me too, so I tried bend at him again, but he blocked it really easily. Then he said that he was a friend.

I asked him if he knew those boys and he told me they were just thugs who didn't know anything about fire bending.

Then, he asked me my name.

"I don't really have one..." I mumbled. In the orphanage, we are just called 'girl' or 'boy.' We didn't get a name until we were old enough to go to school or someone decided to adopt us.

"Ahhh. An orphan." said the man.

"No." I lied. I didn't want him to find out who I was and try to take me back to the orphanage.

But I don't think he believed me, because he said, "It's rare to see such a powerful fire bending orphan who has not yet been adopted."

I was really surprised. He thought I was powerful?

"How old are you, dear?" he asked.

"I'm seven and a quarter." I said proudly. Maybe this person was actually nice! He even called me 'dear.' Bad people wouldn't say kind things like that, right? I decided to trust him.

"Who are you, sir?"

But he didn't answer. He only gave me a weird smile and patted me on the head and said that everything would be fine.

Then, he made me go back to the orphanage and told the manager that I ran away and the manager got really mad at me.

And he just left.

Hmmf. I knew I shouldn't have trusted him. He still made me sad in the end.

But at least I have fire now. I think I'll play with a fireball for a while before I go to sleep today.

–

Something great happened! The man with fancy clothes who made those mean boys go away came back!

This morning, right after I woke up, the orphanage manager led me right to the drawing room where all us children lined up for visitors to look at. As soon as I walked in, the man stood up from his chair and walked over to us.

"Hello," he said to the orphanage manager, then he gave me that weird smile again.

"Are you sure she's the one?" asked the manager as she shoved me forwards, "She is such a gawky talentless thing."

I scowled and crossed my arms. It wasn't my fault I was tall and skinny and tripped over everything! Besides, I'm a fire bender now. I'm not talentless!

"I'm certain that she's very suitable." said the man as he took the paperwork, "May I have I brush? If she is ready, we can leave this evening."

"I'm ready!" I blurted out.

The manager frowned at me disapprovingly and led the two of us to a back room to fill out some scrolls. As I followed them, I looked back and stuck my tongue out at the other kids in the room. I bet they were really jealous I got to be adopted and they didn't! Serves them right. They were mean to me.

While we were in the back room, the man filled out some forms and asked me to talk about myself. I was so happy that someone actually wanted to know something about me!

"I'm the tallest kid in the orphanage and my favorite animal is a koala-bear and I like turtleneck sweaters and I've always wanted to be a bender and I was really excited when I fire bent and my arm still hurts from when those boys burned it last night and someday I'm gonna get my ears pierced and nobody else knows I'm a bender (breath) and I can't wait until I'm good at it because then everyone will like me and let me do what I want to instead of being mean and pushing me around all the time!"

"Hmm. Yes you will be good." interrupted the man absently, examining the burn in the middle of my forehead. I covered it self consciously and ducked away, but the man snatched my hand away.

"Can you keep a secret?" he asked me.

"Yeah!" I said excitedly.

"You have a rare ability." he said, "You can fire bend with your mind."

"Really? How do you know?"

"I've seen many things. I believe you and I will get along splendidly."

"Yay! Can I call you dad?"

"How about you call me sir." he said sternly, "It will make it easier when I train you in fire bending."

"Okay! Am I your...your..."

What was that word again?

"...Your ward?"

"Yes. And valuable ally."

"What's an 'ally'?"

"A friend." replied the man easily.

A friend? I can have a friend now! And he's a grown up. I bet none of the other kids here got to be friends with grown ups.

"And I get to learn fire bending?"

"You will be one of the most dangerous fire benders alive." the man told me with that strange look on his face again.

"Flameo!"

"I will have to come up with a name for you." he said, "A forceful name. A volatile name...P'li."

"Okay! P'li." I repeated, trying out the name, "P'li!"

"Hush." he said, getting up to finalize his paperwork with the manager, "Hopefully, your new found abilities will live up to the powerful meaning of your name."

–

As I left the orphanage, I was a little worried about the creepy way he said some things, but I was really excited that I will learn real fire bending!

Even though my arm was burned, and my face hurts, and I almost died, I'm still really glad that I had to fight those mean boys because now I got to discover that I'm a fire bender! Now I'm special, and I'll get to be powerful and help other people be more powerful too!

I created a flickering ball of flame in the palm of my hand as we rode a Satomobile to his estate, dreaming about the day I can change the world with my newly discovered power.

–

a/n: Interesting fact: P'li's name is 霹靂 (pī lì) and translates to 'lightning bolt' in Chinese.

Also, according to the Avatar Wiki, P'li was taken by a wealthy warlord and trained to be an assassin at a very young age. This is just my head cannon of how that came about.