ZK-Underground prompt "Gifts".
They called it a gift. My special blessing from Tui and La. And as soon as I was able to bend the water, I believed them. My father tried his best to find me a teacher but I was the last one in our part of the world. It was my gift alone on this iceberg at the end of the world. I cherished my ability, practiced as hard moving the water as Sokka did moving the boomerang. Being my own teacher however, my skills were lacking to say the least. I did my best with what I had and that's all anyone could ask for. But it was never enough.
After my mother died, I didn't believe it anymore. This wasn't a gift. It was a curse. My special horror from the depths below. It was because of my bending that my mother is dead. If it weren't for my gift she would still be alive. I wouldn't be in the heart of this war. Starving and clawing our way to a victory that always seemed just out of reach.
But if it weren't for my gift, the Avatar might still lay at the bottom of the ocean. If it weren't for my gift, the war might have ended in the decimation of more people. If it weren't for my gift, I wouldn't be the proud waterbender I am today.
OoOoO
They called it a gift. My special blessing from Agni. And as soon as I was able to bend the fire, I believed them. I was given the highest tutors in the land and I was taught the forms passed down generation to generation. When my sister was born, and she too was a firebender, I was proud of her. But as time went on pride turned to shame. She was better than I was and as a boy and the eldest child, that was insulting to say the least. I did my best with what I had and that's all anyone could ask for. But it was never enough.
After I was branded a traitor and walked the Earth Kingdom with only my uncle at my side, I didn't believe it anymore. People feared my gift. Hated it. Hated me. Where pride once laid, only sorrow remained. I pretended as though it didn't hurt knowing who I was, what I was, but in truth it did. If it weren't for my gift, I might be better accepted for who I am.
But if it weren't for my gift, I could never have joined the Avatar and helped end this war. If it weren't for my gift, the war might have ended in the decimation of more people. If it weren't for my gift, I wouldn't be the proud firebender I am today.
OoOoO
We called it a gift. Our blessings from above. And as soon as the war was over, we believed them.
It was only with each other that we grew stronger with these blessings and with each other. As enemies turned teammates turned friends, we learned and taught in ways that no teacher could ever have dreamt of. We did the best with what we had and that's all anyone could ask for. For we received a gift far greater than any ability. We received peace and freedom. And it was enough.