Normally, Kai was very proud to say he loved being around his element. The heat, the way the flames danced and seemed to almost speak to him.
Today was nowhere close to a normal day, though.
At first, it seemed to have been nothing they couldn't handle. A few small crimes, nothing they hadn't dealt with before. That had all been before the fire had broken out.
They didn't know the cause for it right now. What they did know was that it was spreading fast, too fast for them to easily slow down.
Quite honestly, he didn't know how long he'd been fighting it. It felt like days. All he could really think about was how exhausted he was.
The flames, the silent heat. He'd given up wearing the full mask hours ago, switching it for his half one. At least with that one he could breathe somewhat better. He only caught glimpses of his family, all of them needing to split up to fight alongside the firefighters on different fronts.
He almost collapsed on the ground when the squad he was with at the moment got sent on a much needed break. How long had it even been?
Kai glanced at his watch tiredly, having to tap it a few times to get it to turn on.
Twelve hours.
He'd been fighting this out of control fire for almost twelve hours without taking any breaks longer than ten minutes.
The thought of that made him want to curl up and go straight to sleep.
Practically dead on his feet, he got a glass of water at the emergency code red camp and sat down on the ground, his throat hurting so badly it was hard to swallow.
Smoke inhalation... he'd need to find something to temporarily fix it for now before it became a big problem...
He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't hear someone come up behind him. Two quick taps on the shoulder made him jump far more than they should have.
"Wha- huh?" He twisted a little, his voice breaking a little from the smoke and overuse.
It was just a little kid, a girl who was maybe no older than seven. She shuffled her feet a little, clearly awed to be near him. He couldn't help but smile at her.
"Oh, hey. I-" He coughed, the movement making his throat hurt even more. "I didn't see you there."
"It's okay." She smiled back at him shyly, holding out another cup of water. "For you."
Kai smiled again, taking a sip of the water before he spoke again. Thankfully his throat was a bit less scratchy now that he'd been able to have some water. "Thanks. What's your name?"
"Yuli." Yuli sat down next to him, still holding the flower in one hand. "Mommy says to not bug you too much, 'cause you're probably tired."
He glanced over his shoulder to see a woman, anxiously watching the both of them. She mouthed a silent sorry when their eyes met, but he smiled at her, shaking his head a little.
A girl was a nice change from fire he could only barely control.
"You're not bugging me, Yuli." He took another sip of water, savoring the taste. "It's really nice to meet you."
She smiled brightly, rocking back and forth. Already, she kind of reminded him an awful lot of Jay... "Are you going to stop the fire?"
Kai looked down at the plastic cup, swishing the water around inside. "Yeah. It's just... taking a little while."
"Why? Can't you control it?" She sounded genuinely curious, still watching him.
"I'm trying, but it's harder than I thought it would be."
That wasn't even half of it. For some reason, wildfires were harder for him to sense, much less control. Every time he tried, he got this raging headache, like he just wasn't strong enough. It was frustrating.
"Oh." Almost as if sensing his frustration, Yuli reached out and offered the small purple flower to him. "Can't you be more stubborn than he is?"
Kai smiled, accepting the flower. It was beautiful, a speck of brightness in an otherwise smoky world. "He? Who do you mean?"
"The guy my daddy fights every day." Yuli snickered. "Duh."
A firefighter. Her dad was a firefighter. That was why she was even here at the base.
This sweet little girl's father was out there risking his life. Kai glanced at her, determination rushing through him like a tidal wave.
He had to stop this fire.
"What did you say earlier? About stubbornness?"
"Be more stubborn than he is!" She exclaimed. "Control your element!"
Kai nodded, glancing back at what he could still see of the city. The smoke was too dense to see too much of it, but that didn't matter. It was his home, and his element that was responsible for the chaos and destruction. He had to stop it.
"Hey, Yuli, why don't you run back to your mom, okay? I have some stuff to do."
"Are you gonna go fight 'im?" She asked, scrambling to her feet. "Can I come?"
Kai chuckled, standing up. Every muscle burned and ached at the movement, but he ignored it. "Sorry, but I don't think so. It's best if you stay with your mom."
"Mmm- okay." She mumbled. One second later, she perked up, grinning excitedly. "I'mma be a ninja like you someday, Kai. Didja know that?"
Kai grinned. "Well, keep working for it. Maybe I'll see you again someday."
Yuli grinned too, turning and giving him a huge hug. "Yeah! We will!"
After a second, he returned the hug, going down on one knee so he was at her level. "We definitely will. Now, keep working on those skills of yours and listen to your parents, alright?"
"Okay." She let go, took two steps back, grinned at him once more, and bolted back to the waiting arms of her mom. Kai couldn't help another smile at her energy.
He glanced at the flower in his hand, admiring the bright purple. Be more stubborn than the fire, huh?
He took a deep breath, mentally reaching out in all directions to sense the fire around him. Everything from the flames ravaging the city to the lava below the crust of the earth.
This was his element, and by no means was he going to allow it to run rampant like this.
This was his city, and the fire wouldn't harm it any longer.
Maybe being stubborn was more about willpower than he had thought at first.
After all… who better to handle a raging fire than the Master of Fire himself?
Hey y'all! Just a little something I whipped up because I was in the mood for Kai. Don't ask why XD.
Anyways, hope all of you are doing awesome! As always, if you liked it, feel free to drop me a review! I really do appreciate it when you do! *hands out cookies like crazy* (:) (:) (:) (:) (:)