A/N: Before the 'Avatar' charries come in, I'm gonna do a little background on my characters. Dunno how many chapters there'll be.

Why am I so weird? Ever since I started my bending, Aunt Jessie said I was forbidden from showing anyone what I could do. My name is Syd Lipsky. I'm ten years old, and I am a firebender born in an earthbending village. If the Fire Nation catches me, or so Aunt Jessie tells me, they'll take me away forever.

I'm the only one in my family that is a firebender. The rest of them, my aunt, cousin, parents, and even my twin sister, are earthbenders. I don't know what went wrong with me. I should be an earthbender just as the rest of my family. My father looks at me in disgust every time I look at a fire.

I can't help it. I'm captivated…fire is a part of me, whether he likes it or not. I cannot help who I am; I can only use my powers to help other people…like the Avatar. Avatar Aang supposedly died a hundred years ago, but I've heard lore that he thrives. My father often complains that Prince Zuko, who's in charge of finding the Avatar, is only an incompetent boy that should not be allowed to search for something as important as this.

Anyway, that's not really the point. Basically, dad wants Avatar dead, dear ol' Aunt Jessie disagrees with him (she also disagrees with me calling her 'old' in this diary, but I digress), and now it's time to resume where I was writing before I had to go back a few pages so you could see.

So one day we were eating dinner (leachy nuts and noodles! All right! …No, not in the same bowl. Only the dog likes that), when the Fire Nation arrived. Aunt Jessie was eating with us and motioned for me to hide while she, my twin, and my father conversed with the soldier, who was convinced that rebel firebenders were hiding out on our property. Um, yeah, population: one.

But of course they can't know that. Not that they're smart enough to figure it out from just walking around town, anyhow. They've got the brains of a flying bison. Actually, you know what, strike that, they have the brains of a flea. Or the dog. I never really thought about it before. Gah, I keep getting off topic here.

Meh, maybe I won't tell you what happened. It's just really boring but the next part is really exciting…if you like almost having your ribcage crushed by a plant for fighting with your sister. I'm glad that's over. After dinner that evening, Father was doing chores with Aunt Jessie. "We can't keep hiding her, Jessie." Father spoke, looking toward his sister.

"Are you crazy? If the Fire Nation catches her, she'll either be forced to become a soldier…or…or killed!"

"She's too much of a risk to the rest of the village! She's a firebender! She's ruthless…"

"How can you speak of your own daughter like that?"

"She's not my daughter…it's her fault my wife is dead!" My eyes filled with tears as I watched from the hallway, where I was doing some dusting. "It would have been better," Father continued. "if I had killed her on the spot when we found out she was a firebender."

Aunt Jessie stormed out of the kitchen and then her expression softened when she saw me. "Syd?" She asked. "Can I talk to you?"

"Yes, Aunt Jessie. Of course." I replied politely. "Are we going to your room or mine?"

"Either or." Aunt Jessie suggested.

"Okay." I walked upstairs and she followed, up to my room. I pulled out a sketchpad and continued my drawing of the bird that had always remained perched on my window.

"We have to leave," my aunt informed me. "Tonight. You, your sister and I, will leave for another village."