Disclaimer: Avatar is definitely not mine

Author's Notes: I guess I probably should've gotten this up a little sooner, eh? Sorry. Honestly, I had like half of this done and just sitting there, gathering dust in my folder...

"Wh-what?!" I stare at Zarek. Me? A Firebender? He's got to be nuts!

"Oh right, like you didn't know," Zarek rolls his eyes, idly bending a rock onto my head.

"Yeah, I didn't," I tell him, wishing he'd go away. "Who told you that?"

"Are you kidding me?" Zarek raises his eyebrows. "Everyone knows that you're a Firebender!"

"Everyone…right…" I shake my head, not believing him. "Why don't you prove it?"

"You're the only one who can prove that, Keahi," Zarek points out. "But there's no real way for you to disprove it, so you should just drop the act."

"This isn't an act!" I grind my teeth, my hands balling into fists.

"Oh, are you going to fight me now?" Zarek asks. "Are you going to show me a little fire power? Go for it. Just be mindful that we are surrounded by trees."

I hate this kid. "I'm not a Firebender!"

"Didn't I tell you to stop playing dumb?" Zarek snarls and thrusts his hands forward. The rock around my legs careens backward and smashes into a tree.

My head snaps back from the impact, and hits the tree with a crunching sound. I can feel something hot and sticky trickle down the back of my neck. Great, now I'm bleeding.

"Can't you just knock me out and leave me alone?" I moan, cringing with pain.

"I suppose I could…" Zarek bends another rock in my direction. It hits my nose. Now I've got blood leaking out from both sides of my head. Great, just great.

"Then just do it already!" Really, can't this guy just finish me off now?

"Fine, but remember that you asked for it," Zarek sneers. "And as far as the rest of the village knows, I was in the forest minding my own business, when you came out of no where and threatened me. I merely knocked you out for my own protection. Got it?"

"No!" I sputter. "That's not even plausible! You don't ever knock someone out if all they do is threaten you!"

"Ooh, you're right," Zarek realizes. "I should say that you attacked me, but I deflected it."

My hands are feeling hot. Why are my hands feeling hot?

"Okay? Okay." Zarek has this crazed grin on his face. All I can see is this monster boulder coming at me. It hits me it the face.

My hands feel like they're burning. Is he laughing at me? I can't…quite…tell…

--

I blink, trying to get my vision to focus. Ugh…what happened? All I can see is the sun coming in through the tops of the trees. Why does it have to be so damn bright?

I sit up, trying to remember. I see pebbles and pieces of rock everywhere. I also smell blood. Oh, right. It's my blood.

I remember now. That jerk, Zarek. What was he on? How in all hells could I be a Firebender? My father's an Earthbender for Pete's sake!

But…my hands. They felt so hot before. I look at them. I don't see any burn marks or anything. I can't possibly be a Firebender…right?

I get up slowly, hoping I don't pass out again because of blood loss. I trudge out of the forest and make my way back home. Everyone probably thinks that I attacked Zarek by now, but I really don't care. I just want to lie down, frankly.

Everyone I pass is giving me evil looks. Whatever, it's not really that much different than every other day.

I finally get to my house and lurch inside. "Mom!" I call, praying desperately that she's home.

"I'm in the kitchen, Keahi!" She calls back. Well, if she's heard from Zarek, she doesn't seem to be angry with me.

I go into the kitchen to see her sitting next to the fire, completely ignoring the pot of soup that's boiling over. She's writing something down. It's probably some of her poetry.

She looks up and gasps. "Keahi, what happened?!"

"I got the crap beaten out of me," I shrug. "I'm also bleeding from the back of my head, if you're interested."

Mom stands up and shakes her head. "Come on, I'll dress your wounds."

"Thanks," I smile weakly and sit down. I glance down at what she was writing: Though the way becomes long and hard, to give up is a fool's action. Mom's poetry was always great. But it makes me think. I pretty much gave up when the fight was getting rough. Dammit.

"Now," Mom comes back with some ointments and bandages, "tell me what happened. This can't have happened by accident."

"Take your best guess, Mom," I sigh. "Everyone hates me."

"Come on, you know that's not true," Mom shakes her head as she smears ointments on my injuries.

"Fine, everyone in this village hates me," I correct myself.

"Keahi, don't be silly!" Mom makes a 'pft' noise.

"Mom, do you ever leave the house?" I try not to sound too sarcastic. "Everywhere I go, people give me dirty looks or yell at me. Some random idiot beat me up just for walking in a forest on the outskirts of town. Just for walking in a forest, Mom!"

Mom doesn't say anything, just gently takes hold of my head and turns it, inspecting the back. I can hear her sigh as she washes the excess blood from my hair before dabbing some ointment on the wound. She ties a bandage around it and wipes the blood off of my face. At least my nose has stopped bleeding.

After I'm all cleaned up and Mom's in the middle of putting her healing stuff away, I swallow the lump in my throat and ask: "Mom…am I a Firebender?"

Mom drops her ointment, the jar shattering as it hits the floor. She turns to look at me, her eyes wide with shock. "Who told you?!"

"So I am?" I ask with disbelief.

Mom sinks down onto a futon, burying her face in her hands. "Keahi, I am so, so sorry."

"How could this happen?" I feel like I've gone into shock. "Tell me, Mom, how?"

Mom looks up at me, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. "I don't know, sweetheart…I just don't know…"

Every review you give will go to support the "Make Keahi feel better" fund. It won't help medically, but his morale will increase, don't you think?