The Firebender

Chapter 6: Training?

Water, Earth, Fire, Air

Long ago the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the avatar master of all four elements could stop them but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed and my cousin and I discovered the new avatar. An airbender named, Steven. And although his airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone. But I believe Steven can save the world.

August 8, 1245

We have arrived at the Northern Air Temple, finally. The first thing Amethyst and I did when we got there was sleep in our assigned rooms from our last visit. Steven and Pearl left to give their respects to their people and the spirits of this land; asking if they would let us stay here for a while. I remember seeing Sapphire show Ruby around the place; I can't believe she gave her a room right next door to hers.

Steven can't wait to learn firebending. Ruby said that she would teach him a few things today; so you better believe that I will be there watching to make sure she doesn't have anything planned up her sleeve.

I'll be watching her like a hawk.

Connie shut her journal and slid it under her mattress that rested on four wooden legs. She had been cleaning her room, well more like getting everything situated by putting books on the shelves, folding her clothes into the closet (which was just another empty room with shelves) and making her bed. After a while she had decided to write in her journal, she had some spare time since it wasn't her night to cook.

Connie hummed in thought. "Who is cooking tonight?"

Pearl would be the most likely to cook; her specialty was noodle soup, it was amazing. Steven also occasionally served his veggie balls, he hated meat (it made him think of Lion), and Sapphire was a pro at making spaghetti. And Amethyst…they didn't let her near the kitchen at all.

"Connie, Connie," The cheerful voice of Steven echoed through the halls; he sped in on his air ball cycle before jumping down to his feet, he grinned. "Ruby is about to show me some cool stuff and I know how bad you wanted to watch, so come on!" His joy with literally oozing out of his pours.

Connie couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, of course Steven," She took the offered hand and allowed him to help her off the bed. "Where are you guys going to be training?"

Steven kept a steady fast paced walk as he led her outside. "In the court yard of course, ooo, this is going to be so cool! Come on," He pulled a little harder, not enough to hurt, and walked even faster.

If it were anyone else, Connie would have pegged them as rude. But it was Steven and…well, that should be a good enough excuse.

"This is your room," Sapphire said, opening the door and letting herself into the empty space that was shaped like a box. "I sleep right across the hall if you ever need anything, alright?"

Ruby slowly walked inside with heavy feet; it wasn't much to look at, with a plain white cotton bed on the side, but it would have to do. "…thanks, I'll try to stay out of your way I guess," She muttered as she tossed her duffle bag carelessly across the room.

Sapphire didn't leave, even when Ruby sat at the edge of her bed and stared blankly at the floor. "…are you going to teach Steven anything today?" She tested; not really ready to leave the firebenders presence.

Ruby sighed. "I wouldn't know where to start honestly; we have such little time and so much to go over," She confessed. "I just don't want to let the others down, even if they hate me,"

"They don't…hate you, they just hate your entire family, and nation," Sapphire bit her lip. "No, that came out wrong—"

Ruby smiled softly. "Sapphire, it's fine, really. I can't make them feel a certain way about me so I'll just have to try and make my being here bearable for them, it's fine. And I guess I can—"

"Yo, flamey fire girl, Steven is waiting for you in the courtyard," Amethyst shouted as she passed by the room; not stopping to see if they heard her.

Ruby stood up, she cracked her back. "Welp, I guess I better improvise…are you going to watch?" She asked, a little hopeful; the waterbender was the only one who didn't have a grudge with her and didn't make her feel like a criminal.

It would be good to see a supportive person in the crowd.

But Sapphire shook her head, crushing the other girl's hope in an instant. "I have to cook dinner but when you're finished you should join me in the kitchen, I'll see you later," Was all she said before leaving without another glance.

Ruby huffed, falling backwards into the firm mattress. "This sucks."

Steven was currently doing a series of stretches out on courtyard concrete floor as he awaited his master. The crowd of spectators seemed on edge and a little aggravated.

"She's late," Pearl huffed, legs and arms crossed tightly and close to her body. "Firebenders are never on time; they have no morals and they don't care about anything, let alone being on time for something,"

Amethyst groaned, she was laying flat on her stomach; face in palms and legs kicking in the air. "Pearl, relax, they didn't even have a signed time or anything; Steven just asked her and ran off like a school boy with a crush," She snickered at her simile.

Connie made a face; just the thought of Ruby and Steven together made her want to hurl.

"Amethyst don't be stupid, that would never happen," Connie huffed, trying to cover up her brief jealously with aggravation.

The earthbender hummed. "Yeah, you're right, Sapphire would never let that happen," She mumbled absentmindedly.

The two dainty girls to her left snapped their heads and starred down at her. It took Amethyst a few moments to notice them watching her with gaping expressions, she raised an eyebrow.

"What, you guys seriously didn't know?"

Pearl frowned. "Know what; what are you going on about this time Amethyst?"

The earthbender grinned deviously; she actually had to sit up for this one, Indian style. "Are you kidding me? Sapphire has had a thing for her ever since they met; how can you guys be so blind?" She was leaning in closely; taking delight in having the upper hand.

Connie felt her cheeks heat up. "Bu-but they're both girls!" She stuttered, voice rising slightly but not enough for Steven to hear.

Pearl was blushing as well but not as intense as the swordsmen; she was far more educated about, this, than the fourteen year old.

"So young, so innocent, I remember when I was like that," Amethyst chuckled.

Pearl finally snapped out of her shock and scoffed. "This is ridiculous, Sapphire would never have feelings for that firenation scum; she's far too civilized. You're probably making this up like the time you said Peridot winked at you during our battle,"

Connie drifted back to the memory of the earthbender trying with all her might to try and prove herself to the team. None of them believed her at the time and they still didn't.

Amethyst frowned, pointing an accusing finger at the airbender. "That was not a lie! She totally winked at me before running off,"

Pearl's lips made a straight line; she was not amused.

"Look who cares about that," Connie said, wanting to return to their previous conversation. "How are you so sure that Sapphire likes her?"

The earthbender turned her attention away from Pearl. "Her heart beat speeds up every time she see's Ruby and she's always blushing or stuttering around her; when does Sapphire ever stutter? She's too composed for that and you know it,"

Connie shook her head; she didn't want to believe it. "That doesn't mean anything,"

"Oh yeah, you should know her better than all of us," Amethyst shot back. "Did she ever have any interest in guys back at your tribe?" She raised an eyebrow.

Connie shrugged. "Well, no but—"

"I rest my case," Amethyst announced with her hands in the air, victoriously.

Pearl shook her head. "…I still think you're crazy," She deadpanned.

"How about a bet then?" Amethyst proclaimed; getting both of their attentions. "If I'm right then you two have to give me a foot massage," She snickered at their disgusted faces; she had the worst, stinky, feet out of all of them. "But if you guys are right and Sapphire doesn't like her…I'll do anything you say for a whole day, deal?"

Connie and Pearl each exchanged a look before nodding.

"But how are we going to prove that she doesn't like her; we can't ask her, she'd deny it," Pearl said. "We should have a time frame to when we need to find out, like three weeks,"

"Three weeks sounds good," Connie quipped.

"Fine," Amethyst smirked. "Prepare to lose ladies; I'm sure that Sapphire is crushing big,"

Pearl hesitated. "Wait, hypothetically, if you're right and Sapphire does like her then we still have a common question we need to ask ourselves,"

Amethyst and Connie looked up, intrigued as Pearl spoke the one question that was on all of their minds.

"Does Ruby like her back?"

Sapphire arranged the bowls in the place where her friends would be sitting as said group sluggishly walked into the mess hall; which was just them sitting under the stars with a nice warm fire in the center and logs as their seats. She was currently stirring the pot of chicken stew; it was almost ready.

She had a plate of salad ready for Steven; she knows how much he hates meat.

"Hey, how was the training session?" Sapphire asked, watching Connie and the other bending girls plop down. "You all look exhausted."

Amethyst huffed. "We are; is the food almost ready yet?"

"…almost," The waterbender muttered; watching Steven slowly sit beside Connie, the wince he made did not go unnoticed. "You okay Steven?"

The boy nodded sheepishly. "Y-yeah, just a little worn out from training is all,"

Pearl scoffed. "It wasn't even training; there were no flames, not even a simple puff of smoke. Ruby's training method is such a joke,"

Sapphire bit the inside of her cheek; holding back her defensive statement over the firebender. "I'm sure there was a reason; what did she make you do?" She directed her attention to Steven.

"I had to run a few warm up laps; do tons of pushups, sit ups, weight lifting and hill climbing; I took a while but Ruby did it all so fast, you should have seen her!" Steven cheered; wincing when his arms stretched too far. "She said that the root of firebending was through the physical strength of the bender; it's supposed to be intense and reckless but she said somehow you have to find a way to channel it and create it into your own style," He grinned.

"She's so cool, she said that she'd try and teach me some firebending tomorrow if I finish my workouts at a good time," Steven said cheerfully.

Pearl scoffed. "I don't believe her for a second; strength has nothing to do with bending,"

"Actually, had to make Steven strong when I taught him so," Amethyst made a fart sound at the end of her sentence; Pearl scrunched her face up.

Steven chuckled, standing up with slight trouble. "I'm going to get some sleep, Ruby says I have to be up pretty early or else she's starting without me, and my legs feel like noodles; may I eat in my room?" He asked politely.

"You may," Sapphire simply said; handing the avatar his bowl of salad.

Steven bid everyone a good night and when he was gone Sapphire began serving the others their food. Amethyst took an extra helping and engulfed her food while the other girls ate like they weren't born in a zoo.

Sapphire was just about to make her own when something came to her. "Where's Ruby?"

"…I think she's in her room; said something about having to finish something, I don't know," Pearl raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I'm going to bring her some food; she has to be starving and I don't want it to get cold," Sapphire announced; she made the shorter girl a bowl of her stew before she walked towards the rooms.

Amethyst wiggled her eyebrows. "I told you so—"

"That doesn't mean anything," Pearl scoffed. "Sapphire is just being polite an—"

Connie interrupted; not in the mood for their banter. "Let's follow her," She stood up abruptly with her soup in hand, she looked down at their shocked expressions. "If something does go down how will we know who won the bet; they'd never tell us and even if they act strange the next day we wouldn't know for sure,"

"B-but Connie that's spying—" Pearl began.

"I'm in!" Amethyst shot up; spilling her soup on the ground. "Ruby has a window in her room so we can watch from there; come on!"

Pearl bit her lip, hesitantly following behind the jogging girls.

"This is going to end badly," The airbender decided.

Sapphire softly knocked on the door before sliding it open slowly. "Hey Ruby, I heard you didn't eat so—oh," A sudden heat ran across her face.

"Sapphire, hey, just give me a second to finish." Ruby huffed out. "Seventy-six…"

Blue eyes widened as the firebender dropped down just to pull herself back up effortlessly. People doing pushups didn't startle her but Ruby doing pushups had a startling affect.

The firebender was in such good shape.

Sapphire couldn't stop herself from licking her lips as a drop of sweat trailed down Ruby's broad shoulders and towards her forearm that was punctured with visible straining veins. The firebender was only wearing a tight fitting black sports bra and even tighter black shorts that rested above her mid thigh; they might as well be boxers they were so short.

Sapphire shifted her legs and clenched them together; nobody has ever made her feel like this, all hot and bothered. Although she wasn't as experienced, she wasn't dense. She knew arousal when it hit, and the burning between her legs had to be it.

"Eighty," Ruby said, getting to her knees before standing up at her full height; she sighed happily with her arms at her hips. "What can I do for you?" She asked obliviously, turning around to clean the sweat off her body with a blue towel.

'She has abs…'

Sapphire had never felt so jealous of a piece of fabric before in her life until now. "I, uhm, brought you some food since you probably haven't eaten yet; it's chicken soup," Her mouth felt so dry.

Ruby smiled softly; tossing the used towel near her other dirty clothes. "Oh sweet, thanks, I was going to get some food later after I was finished," She grabbed a red sleeves shirt and pulled it over her head.

Goodbye beautiful abs.

"I didn't want your food to get cold,"

Ruby chuckled, looked at her when her clothing was on properly. "I'm a firebender, Sapphire; I could have heated it myself,"

Sapphire felt like slapping herself for being so dense. "Right, of course, I feel so stupid for not remembering that…I guess I'll just, leave this here," She placed the bowl near the other girl's foot before standing back up.

"I guess I should just, go," She pointed to the door.

"…" Ruby swallowed. "O-or you can just stay, keep me company since you seem to be the only one who doesn't despise me," She offered a soft smile.

Sapphire nodded, sitting beside her on the bed; leaving an appropriate amount of space between them. "…is it good? The soup I mean,"

Ruby nodded through a mouthful before swallowing. "It's actually really great, you made it right?"

"Yeah I did," Sapphire felt flattered and tried her best not to blush. "You should cook with me tomorrow night; it'd go easier with a human flame by my side to heat the food quicker,"

Ruby snickered. "Human flame, I love that," She paused for a moment to swallow a chunk of sliced chicken. "How about…if I help you cook, then you come watch Steven and I train tomorrow," She turned her intense red eyes to Sapphire, who couldn't take the pressure and looked away.

"D-deal," Sapphire chocked out before composing herself. "Tomorrow we make fish,"

Ruby nodded. "I'll help but I doubt the others will eat it; they already don't trust me, I doubt they'll eat food that I make,"

"…well I can't vouch for the others but," Sapphire bit her lip. "I trust you,"

Ruby couldn't help but grin, Sapphire trusted her. "Thanks," She whispered; Sapphire didn't seem to hear her but it was okay.

As long as Sapphire knew she wasn't a bad person then she had a reason to be here.

"What are they saying?" Pearl huffed; watching Sapphire look down to the floor. "And where is Ruby; what's Sapphire looking at?"

Amethyst placed a hand to the ground before muttering. "Ruby is on the floor doing pushups…Ha! Look, Sapphire is blushing like crazy," She pointed with a grin.

Connie frowned. "She is blushing but that can mean a lot of things; anger, frustration, shyness—"

"Arousal," Amethyst snickered.

Pearl hit her on the shoulder; motioning to the confused Connie. "Amethyst stop,"

"Pearl, what's ar—"

"Look there is nothing here so let's just go back!" Pearl shot up; she was not going to be the one to give Connie 'the talk'.

Amethyst pulled her back down. "Look, she's sitting down,"

"Why are they just sitting there like that?" Connie furrowed her eyebrows. "Is she staying there tonight?" She guessed, making Pearl and Amethyst's faces heat up.

The earthbender stood up. "P-pearl is right we should leave; I doubt anything is going to happen, not anything we should be watching at least," She pulled Connie up and dragged her away. "Let's go samurai,"

Connie pouted. "I wanted to watch,"

After that statement poor little Connie got the lecture of a lifetime; not even knowing what she said wrong.

I am such in a writing mood; whoo! It's raining cats and dogs outside and all of you know that rain is the perfect writing weather so yeah, I'm feeling it. I might post 'Mine' and if I finish that I will try to work on 'Crystal Gems Online' which will be ending in a few chapters.

Anyway I hope you liked it and see you in a few hours; maybe.