Black Fire & The Blue Spirit

My name is October and I'm a master firebender. My family was killed by the Fire Nation and I was determined to kill the man who let that happen. The Fire Lord.

Seven years ago we were attacked because my father refused to fight in the war, as a result our house was lit on fire along with the people inside, my mother and father. I was coming home from school and I saw that. I had nowhere to go and I knew I wasn't strong enough to do anything, yet. So I traveled to the Earth Kingdom in hopes of finding a firebender to teach me. I was ten at the time, and I found a woman named Kaida to teach me. I lived with her until she died, when I was fifteen. She taught me many things, to use my power wisely, to not be fueled my hate, even though I clearly was.

I trained myself every day, becoming stronger and more ready to fight the Fire Lord. My fighting style was quick and my moves were smooth, up until I ready to strike. I trained myself physically and mentally, I had the ability to use lightening, though I never did because I was afraid of its power. My fire had changed color over the years as well, from the normal yellow orange color, to blue, and now black. When I attacked at night, no one could see what happened, I was quick and the fire was dark.

I lived in Ba Sing Se, in the day I would see people who would steal, gamble on the streets and cheat, or commit other crimes, and at night, I would give them their justice. I wore a dark ninja-like robe around my body, covering the bottom part of my face as well. Generally, I would mark them, a swift mark on their face or arm, just a tiny line, or just scare them off. I was called the Black Fire. I desperately wished for a good fight, so that I could gain experience when it came time to kill the Fire Lord. Before I came to Ba Sing Se, I was a bounty hunter, I rarely ever killed, I just marked them for when the big man came, when I did that, it was a small burn down the eye. I kept track of who I killed, I always remembered their names. I never killed someone with children or a spouse. I had killed six. I would never do it again, unless the seventh was a certain Fire Lord.

I rented a small room in a family's house across from a tea shop. The man there was very nice, Mr. Mushi. He was a short round man, and he always smiled if he saw me walking past, I had never in there though, not liking tea too much. The family I lived with encouraged me to go out a get a job at a booth, or the tea shop across the street, so the next day, I took their suggestion. I woke up stared in the mirror, looking back at my almond shaped red brown eyes telling myself this is not going to be a good day, bathed, dressed in dark green pants and a tight lighter green long shirt showing my slightly pale toned arms with the burn I received on my right forearm from a bounty gone wrong. The tunic went over the pants, with two slits on my thighs showing the dark green underneath, showing off my curves. The pants stopped at my mid calf and I wore simple green flats. I tied my long chocolate brown hair in a loose braid on one side, but it didn't do much good as I had short layers sticking out of the braid blending in with my bangs, it was messy, but in a way cute. On my left wrist I wore a red handmade bracelet my father had given my mother just days before they died. After I was done getting ready, I left the house and walked into the Jasmine dragon. The place had a warm atmosphere. Mr. Mushi was serving tea to people and his nephew was behind the counter making tea.

"Hello! What can I get you today?" Mr. Mushi smiled as we walked up to me while I was still standing by the door.

"Hi, uh…can I get a job actually?" I had never been one with words.

"A job? No tea? Well, that's okay! Yes, I've been needing help as a matter of fact. Can you start today? We're quite busy."

"Oh yeah, uh sure I can. What do you want me to do?"

"You can wait tables, I need to help my nephew in the kitchen. I'll go get an apron for you, be right back." He ran to kitchen. I saw him talk to his nephew and point at me, his nephew, Lee, just looked and awkwardly smiled. Mr. Mushi came back to me and handed me a white apron and a pad of paper to write down orders. "Okay, here you go. Just ask costumers what they would like, write it down, and bring it to the counter."

"Okay, thank you Mr. Mushi." I bowed to him and went to wait my first table.

After a long day serving tea and waiting angry costumers, I was exhausted. I had stayed all day until the last costumer had finished his tea. I was putting the chairs on tables. The braid I had put in that morning had fallen out, so I tied it up in a bun, with hair sticking out looking like sharp spikes.

"Thank you so much, October! How many days a week would you like to work?" Mr. Mushi came over after he was done washing the dishes.

"No, thank you, Mr. Mushi. Well, my family-er, the family I live with, they think it's best for me to do something during my day, so I can be here every day if you want." I smiled, showing I was happy to do anything. The night was when I enjoyed my time.

"How about I start you at four days a week? I'll see you tomorrow." He bowed, and I returned with a bow. Then I left the tea house, and returned home to change my clothes. I put dark pants on, then the robe-like covering fit around my body, wrapping it around me. I took my Dao swords and secured them around my waist. Then, I put my bow and arrows on my back. I pulled the robe up to cover my face, leaving my red brown eyes. I put on boots, with daggers on the bottom of the shoe, just in case. I climbed out my window and jumped the rooftops, slipping away into the night.

To be continued…