I'm so sorry that I stayed away from this story for so long! I'm on my summer hols now, and am currently rewatching the whole of ATLA, so I should have the time and muse to continue this story quite extensively.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! Hope you like this chapter even though it's a bit short.

Scarlet Canyon, also known as the Valley of the Shaking Earth, was the largest canyon that Pemiri had ever seen. But then again, she had seen very little of the Earth Kingdom, so perhaps it was not as impressive as she thought. She landed Felo inside it and dismounted, clutching her staff for reassurance.

"Hello?" She called hesitantly, and when she got no answer, vaguely wondered if Master Kamar did in fact live anywhere nearby. What if she had taken a wrong turn, and he was miles north or south? The canyon stretched for easily that far, so much that it wouldn't be surprising. "Hello?"

After ten minutes of getting no reply, Felo made a sound that was between a snort and a sigh, as if to say 'this is not going to work'.

"I don't want any of your pessimism," She was quick to tell him, and continued to call out. "Master Kamar? Are you there?"

By the time that an hour had passed, her calls had become less frequent, only about one a minute, as her hope began to deflate. Giving up sounded so terrible, but she didn't know what to do.

"Master Kamar, if you're here then please come out!"

"For the love of holy life itself, will you please shut up!" A very irritated, loud voice shouted from some way behind her. Spinning on the spot, Pem saw a powerfully built man sending a glare her way. His face was scarred on one side, and he had a serious, thin mouth.

It was obvious that he wasn't pleased to see her.

"I'm sorry," She quickly said, and inclined her head in a show of respect. "Only, I'm looking for Kamar, the Earthbending Master."

He grunted. "Yes, you made that rather clear."

Pem chuckled at that involuntarily. "I suppose I did." He didn't look so amused and so she sobered. "I wouldn't have been so ridiculously persistent, only it's vital that I find him. Utterly vital."

"Let me guess. You want to learn Earthbending?" She nodded. "And your parents and people from your village praise you for your skills and tell you that you could be a great bender with training."

"Well-"

"Save it. It's a story I've heard a hundred times before."

A little confused, she frowned and eyed him. "Are you his assist- no. You're Kamar, aren't you?" Her eyes widened with her realisation, and sure enough, he nodded, looking less than pleased.

"Look, girl, I don't teach anymore. I was kicked out of my town for my unusual methods and for being too 'harsh' for the sake of progress. I don't need someone like you trying and going running back to your parents because it's too hard and I was being mean," His mocking voice only made her more determined.

Pem stood up straighter. "I can guarantee that I'm not typical." With that, she used her hand to push strands of hair out of her face, revealing her Airbender tattoo. Sure enough, both of his eyebrows lifted and surprise flicked through his dark eyes. Before he could answer, she dropped to her knees in front of him and bowed her head. "My name is Pemiri," She said, lifting her head just enough to be able to look him in the eye, "I am from the Eastern Air Temple, and three years ago they told me that I was the Avatar," His expression was unfathomable but she continued without letting it phase her, "I have spent three years at the North Pole mastering waterbending. And now I ask – no, I beg that you allow me to learn from you the art of earthbending. Please, I have nowhere else to go."

Kamar's forehead was creased with a deep frown as he regarded her carefully with dark eyes. "Why not? I thought you Avatars were supposed to have guides from your homes until you're old enough?"

"Yes," She whispered. "We were attacked after we arrived here, by firebenders. They killed her, and near killed me. A healer told me of you. No matter what occurred, I cannot stop my training." Her dark grey eyes pleaded with him. "Please. I am all alone. I have nowhere else to go."

He sighed heavily before offering her a hand to help her up. "Get up, girl." She did, and waited as he appraised her. Or rather, tried to. "That coat is only going to weigh you down. Take it off, let me see what I'm working with." Pem removed the coat, leaving her in the thick trousers and a short tunic which didn't cover all of her torso. Kamar gestured at the former. "Those too, if you're got something underneath." Again she did as she was told, and was left in the tunic and her finely knit leggings which went just past her knee. "Good. Now you look like you could actually get something done." She could feel his gaze taking in the arrows that traced the lengths of her limbs. "Those are some impressive tattoos, kid."

"Thank you," Pem traced the one on the back of her left forearm absently, not used to wearing so little, especially in front of a person who was a good as a stranger. He did however have a point – she could already see that she had freer movement. And the Earth Kingdom was incredibly hot for her body, which was still used to the North Pole.

"Turn," She turned to let him see her back, and then came back around to see him nodding. "You've got some muscles there, even if they are small. The burns are from the attack?"

"Yes. Still fresh, but healing. The healer said most of them are going to scar, though."

"Does that bother you?"

"Not particularly. They'll serve as a reminder."

"What of?"

"Of what I have lost and of why I must keep moving forward."

Kamar eyed her with reluctant approval. "What was your name again?"

"Pemiri," She answered, "But I usually just go by Pem."

"Well, Pem, this might just work."

The first thing he assessed was her natural affinity for Earth, which she already knew was rather high compared to the one she had had with water. It was easier not to think about the fact that she had never even managed to heat up air before, let alone use fire. She would cross that bridge when she came to it.

She was able to lift a few pebbles instantly, but very quickly it became apparent that she was going to have to start with the basics just like anyone else. Kamar stood beside Pem and corrected her posture until it was grounded enough.

"Now, move the rock forward," He told her. "Feel the earth beneath you."

She thrust her hands forward. The rock teetered for a moment and then stilled.

"Feel the flow of the earth. It's a life force, just like you are. Befriend it."

Her toes dug into the dirt and dust she stood on, and she took in a deep breath, trying to do as he said and feel the flow of it underneath her. She repeated her previous movement with more force and this time the rock slid forward a few feet. A small smile played on her lips at the minute success.

"Good."

Her head finally turned away from the rock to look at him instead. "Really?"

"It's something," He shrugged, "You said it took you three years to master waterbending, you know these things take time."

Pem nodded, knowing it to be very true. "Yes, though I struggled a lot with water for some reason. I never liked it and the sheer size and power of water always frightened me. Earth is different. It's solid, and steady. I've always felt more connected to it."

Kamar nodded, seeming pleased by her answer. "Come, it's getting dark, I'll show you where I sleep. Since you're my apprentice of sorts now, I guess you'll be staying with me."

"Thank you," She said gratefully, "Really, thank you so much. If you had refused me…well, I don't honestly know what I would have done or where I would have gone."

He merely grunted passively and gestured for her to follow him. Eventually they came to a large cave where she could see a bed of soft heather in the corner and a currently empty fire pit.

"You'll have to make do with the ground tonight, but tomorrow you can get some heather to make your own bed," He said, and she shook her head.

"I'll not be going anywhere for a while. I'll take Felo's saddle off of him, it makes a very good place to sleep," She went back outside to see the bison and brought him near the cave so that he could sleep outside and be close to her. The saddle was a hassle to remove but it eventually came off, and it made a spacious bed of sorts once she got it in the cave. Plus there were a couple of blankets from the North Pole, but the night wasn't cold, so she used them to make the saddle softer instead. Despite them, the burn on her back – the worst one – flared the moment she lay down on it, so she did her best to stay on her side. The problem was that she had burns all over her so it was hard to find a position where one wasn't getting pressure put on it.

With a sigh, Pem squeezed her eyes shut and tried to ignore the pain so that she could sleep.

The next morning, the extensive training began, but it began slowly. Kamar made Pemiri stand up for hours, feeling the vibrations in the earth as he bent the earth nearby. Then he made her sit and feel them with her hands instead of her feet.

This continued for many weeks until she knew exactly what he was doing with the earth just by the vibrations. That was when he let her go back to moving rocks, putting them in piles, making sure that she kept everything controlled.

By the time they were four months in, she could move boulders without much difficulty and was able to pull new boulders out of flat ground as well. They had moved on creating more specific shapes, which was difficult and taking a long time to learn.

"I still don't understand how this is helpful," She said, and when he shot her a stern look she obediently put her head back down.

"It might not be something you use in a battle, but it still exercises your ability." He told her firmly.

"The control," She guessed, and he nodded.

"Exactly. Now, I want you to try a tree. With as many individual needles as you can."

Pem set herself with determination and began to picture it in her head before pulling it up from the ground.

Pemiri and Kamar walked through the small village that was nearest to his canyon. Kamar was in his usual plain tunic and leggings, and Pem wore similar dull brown clothes, but her tunic was long sleeved so as to cover her arms and most of her hands. Most villagers knew her to be or would guess her to be Kamar's newest apprentice – therefore for the sake of privacy and safety, it was best to not reveal her airbender heritage.

Whispers always followed them. Six months into her training and they still gossiped about the new apprentice who wasn't put off by Kamar's sometimes doubtful methods.

"Go find some cheap rope or yarn – or else we'll weave our own," Kamar instructed Pem, "And by we, I mean you."

Pem chuckled at the typical comment. "Yes master."

"Keep an eye out for anything else useful. I trust your judgement on that, and I can't say that about most."

She just nodded, took the money from him, and began to browse the stalls. The food stalls were tempting, but she knew that it was Kamar's job. A stall selling pottery stole her attention because some of the designs were lovely. If Kamar asked, a jug would be a good thing to consider for more effective water carrying than his current rather faulty wooden bucket.

"These are beautiful," Pem said to the stall owner, not taking her eyes off the intricate details on some of the finer pieces. "Did you make them?"

The man smiled at the compliment. "Yes, I did. Nothing makes me happier."

"I understand the appeal," Her eyes briefly flicked up to look at him as her finger traced the edge of one of the bowls, "Practicality and beauty all in one."

At that, the small smile began a toothy, wide one. "An Earthbender with a thoughtful side…not a common sight."

She was unable to correct him. Instead, she just smiled. "People can be surprising." Her gaze fell on a tiny jug at the end of the row. It was utterly adorable and the moment she saw it, she was in love. "Wow."

"It's a nice little piece," The owner nodded as he noticed her interest, "Not terribly practical, though."

"If only I had my own money," Pem sighed glumly, "Master Kamar only condones practicality. However, I might return for one of the larger jugs soon."

"Alright then," He smiled and she smiled back, glad that people were finally starting to warm up to her after being rather icy for so long. Then again, she needed to not get too attached to the small town. Soon enough she would have to leave and seek out a firebending teacher, which was not something she was looking forward to.

Hope you liked it! The next chapter will have a bit more on Earthbending, but the real part of the plot is her struggle with firebending so that is where the story is going to pick up. Hope you guys liked Kamar.

-MayFairy :)