My nightmares always involved the moon. I would see her beauty as she shone in the vastness of the night sky, however, attached to her were those ill memories, where I would see their faces, and I would remember the storm. I called the moon a she, as many did, but I was not limited by her. I felt as if we were on equal grounds, at times, but perhaps that was just my power clogging the innards of my skull. I could feel the power of the moon, and I could feel the power of my past, and that is all I needed from both of those. However, I was still attached to all those misfortunes, they made me who I am. In the end, perhaps I just hoped to be free, whatever that really meant, and the world to be free with me.


I watched them, two kids, flinging bunches of rocks towards a small dog. The dog was whimpering and attempting to avoid the attacks as much as he could, but his back leg was twisted in such an estranged angle that he merely limped and struggled as he was hit. It was vaguely familiar, I saw—there was an explosion, the ground suddenly seemed as if it was liquid. I stumbled and grasped at the wall, hastily attempting to stay upwards. My ears were ringing in such an intensity, which made it feel as if someone was repeatedly stabbing into my ear.

It took several minutes for me to regain my senses, but as soon as I did I jolted upwards, and became prepared for any defensive. There was so much dust, I struggled to breathe. I heard panic, the wailing of a baby, someone calling out a name, and yet, what stood out most of all was a repeating and broken call for help. It was from the girl in the library, and being a familiar voice, I used it to guide me.

There she was, but I could barely see her. She was on the ground, grasping at her hands, with her gloves torn and on the ground near her. "Are you okay?" I asked, keeping my distance from her. She looked straight at me, her eyes tearing up...blood dripped from her hands, and so, I stepped forwards. "W—"

"Get away from me," she hissed, under her breath, and then coughed.

"You did this." I stared at her hands, noticing how gnarled her fingers were. I attempted to hold back a sneeze, but sneezed anyways.

"Someone did this to me." She pressed her hands against the dirt ground, and just stared downwards, "I c-can't control it." The dust was clearing now, slowly.

My narrowed eyes moved from her to the damage she wrought, a massive hole in the library and a nearby stone building was partly destroyed. I stepped forwards, and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her upwards to a standing position. I let go of her and faced her completely. "Don't stay here. Run." My eyes met hers, "I don't know your situation specifiably, but staying here wallowing in it will not help you." She seemed to understand though her tears and obvious pain, and so, I watched as she fled. I fled also.


Visions of the kids beating on the dog, and of the girl's gnarled hands, which reminded me of burned tree branches, haunted me whenever I closed my eyes—I had managed to make some coin, and secure an apartment in the small village. It was an Earth Kingdom village, remote and humble, and when I had first arrived, it was rather relaxing, and fresh. I couldn't have gotten here on my own, for I had rather generous people to thank for my own survival, images of these people were also in my mind, but I did not feel...warm to me, they felt like...assets, tools of somehow, and my stomach turned at the thought. They were people, not assets. They were people, not tools, they had offered to help me, but they had no idea...

It was obvious that the library girl, or as she called herself "daughter of a historian", had a unique style of Firebending, and it seemed to be of combustion, but I had not seen it in action. It felt odd to me, somehow, her hands were twisted in such an alien way, and the way her hands bled...no, this didn't seem like some sort of natural ability. I sat there, in my humble but comfortable apart, holding my head in my hands and eyes following the small patterns in the wood, absently.

I had stayed here because of this odd occurrence, and I visited the library every day as it was being repaired. It seemed the accident brought the library to attention, and in turn, I believe it was getting some fashion of better funding. I stood up, slid on a jacket, and stepped out of the door, cautiously.

The building, that my apartment was in, was located high up on a rough and sharp formation of rock, which was also coated in vegetation, and generally rather wet. For being in the Earth Kingdom, this specific village had quite a bit of moisture within the air, and as aforementioned, it was remote. I could've spent the rest of my life here, honestly. I walked down the steps that were carved of the stone, and waved to some people I could call acquaintances. It had been a week since I had last saw this "combustion girl".

Whenever I had arrived at the same old library as where I met her, I sat at the same table where we first met, recalling her odd prying behaviour and ability to read me nearly every time. I considered it best that she came to me, and I was betting that she would, even if it was "arriving at the scene of the crime"—nobody, but her and the buildings, was seriously harmed, I believe. It was this day that I had heard the door creak open, so loud and resounding within the library despite the sound of construction work, and sound of her metal parts moving. I pretended to be indulging the book in front of me.

"Do you live here?" It was definitely the girl's voice, the one I had been waiting for.

"I rented an apartment," I looked up at her, and put my hand out on the table, "please, sit."

"Not here," she said, simply, her eyes never levelled with mine, unlike last time, "we should talk in a more isolated place."

"I agree." I replied, standing up and stretching. I heard some snickering from somewhere in the library, and I knew who it was—from what I heard of their whispers during the week I've been coming to the library, this couple believed I had a crush on this girl. It was great they thought that way, made the situation a bit...easier, on me. The snickering couple were there when I had first met her, as well, they were regulars like a few others I noticed.

The girl and I left the library.