Well, I hate writer's block. I must have deleted so much crap this last month or so. But this chapter seems acceptable so I'm going to post it and let you guys be the jugde of that. I'm very sorry this chapter took so long to put up. I've been busy with the start of the school year and holidays and stuff. I joined the school sailing team, and that's taken a chunk of of my time too. Oh well, enjoy the chapter.

; )

Chapter 11

Kaiya looked on, her eyes wide, as she drank in everything around her. Here were hundreds of people, all going on their daily lives as if this place was perfectly ordinary. She paused. Well, this place was perfectly ordinary, to them at least. Was this how earth subjects lived all the time? wondered Kaiya.

She stepped forward into the street out of the cart. No one spared her a second glance. And why should they? Kaiya told herself, you look exactly like one of them.

She still wasn't used to the knee length skirt in earth kingdom green, the white cotton singlet and green short sleeved jacket feel normal either. What was the strangest however were the brown leather sandals fastened firmly onto her feet. They felt bizarre after the fur lined, seal skin boots she had been wearing all her life.

It was just strange.

Kaiya sighed and looked up the street, shading her eyes against the sun. She scanned all the buildings and faces, hoping for a sign that the earth temple was nearby.

There. Pushing though the crowd was a man in the long green robes that indicated he had dedicated his life to the earth sprits. Kaiya quickly picked up her bag and raced after him, dancing and darting between the crowd.

It was difficult to catch up to him, the bag was still as heavy as ever and she was tired.

"Excuse me" Kaiya bowed respectfully to the earth Dedicate, clutching her side as she breathed heavily.

"What is it child?" The earth dedicate seemed almost amused at this child who was addressing him.

"I'm looking for the earth temple school" Kaiya explained "I need to study bending there."

"Do you?" the Dedicate's face brightened "We always welcome new earth benders, follow me; I'll take you there."

Kaiya sighed as she fell in step with the father. All her worries that the school was full, or they wouldn't believe that she was from the earth kingdom seemed for nothing.

"Do you have a name?"The dedicate asked suddenly.

"Kaiya Ruggason" she replied, looking up at the Dedicate. She watched as he started to frown in puzzlement.

"Isn't that a water tribe name?"He asked, eyes curious.

"Yes, it is." Kaiya said, racking her brains for a suitable story, "My Parents travelled a lot, they were staying in the northern water tribe when I was born. My mother decided to give me a water tribe name"

The Dedicate nodded, it seemed that he believed her story.

"Have you learnt much bending already?" The Dedicate wanted to know.

"Not much" admitted Kaiya "I haven't even really learnt the basics." She made a face.

"That's not a problem, we sometimes get adults who are total beginners!" the Dedicate laughed.

Kaiya breathed deeply, she was afraid she was too old to be taught.

They kept walking in silence. Kaiya was getting more and more nervous by the second. She felt uncomfortable lying to these people. It went against all she was taught.

It's not really lying, Kaiya told herself, I was born in the northern water tribe. I just neglected to mention it was because my parents were from the northern water tribe.

She watched as the Dedicate walked to an earth brown door, he slid it across and turned to the side, indicating for her to enter.

Kaiya gulped and stepped past the Dedicate into the temple, into the place where she would be spending the next year or so of her life.

The temple was unlike anything she had ever seen, unlike the temples at home it was constructed out of sturdy rock and decorative patterns were pressed into the hard earth everywhere. There was also a lot of green cloth draping over everything.

And this was just the first room.

She was taken to a different room almost immediately after she had arrived. There she was left, bags and all. After a little while the Earth dedicate had come back, towing another dedicate with the markings on his robe indicating he was an Avatar level master. Behind him walked a boy Kaiya estimated to be about her own age.

"This is the head Dedicate Earthwave" explained the earth dedicate that had bought her here. "I am Dedicate Groundwater."

"I'm Lee, the one who was kinda enjoying history class until I was yanked out to come here." The boy waved jauntily from behind the Head Dedicate.

"Weren't you sitting at the back, not paying any attention to the teacher at all and shooting rocks at all the other students." Dedicate Earthwave said wryly.

"Exactly, that's why I was enjoying it!"

"Really" Groundwater muttered under his breath.

"Now," Earthwave turned his attention to Kaiya now. "What do we have here?"

"I am Kaiya Ruggason," she replied nervously. "I'm here to learn how to earth bend."

"Really?" Lee seemed interested now.

"No," Kaiya said, watching Lee's face fall, "of course I am, would I be here if I didn't?"

"Oh," the boy seemed slightly subdued now. "Of course,"

"How much do you know Kaiya?" Earthwave asked.

"Not much. Just the small things, e.g. moving a rock." Kaiya said quickly. "On anything more difficult than that I'm a total beginner."

"That's Fine," Groundwater said, "why don't you show us?"

Kaiya looked around the wide room, noting the hard packed earth floor with interest.

"What? In here?"

"Yes, in here." Groundwater said patiently, "this is one of our smaller training rooms."

"Oh," it was Kaiya's turn to be subdued now. "Well, ok then"

She stomped her foot on the ground, hard. She thanked the spirits she'd thought to practice before she arrived. A small boulder rose shakily in the air, with a note of pride she noticed it didn't shake as much as it did last time she had practiced. She had got better.

The boy, Lee, looked unimpressed though. He was now leaning against the far wall, juggling some stones jauntily.

Kaiya gritted her teeth and bought her fist snapping forward, like she meant to punch the rock. The bolder shot forward and slammed into the far wall hard enough to take a decent chuck out.

Kaiya didn't even think he was still watching.

She realized that the chunk in the wall was probably not a good thing. There were crinkles in the brow of the head dedicate.

"I'm so sorry." Kaiya apologised. "I'm still pretty new at this, here; I'll try and fix it."

She stared in concentration at the wall, she easily identified the pieces that belonged in the wall, they were a slightly redder brown colour.

She stomped her foot, forcing her will onto the wall fragments. They all hovered into the air. Kaiya breathed and slid her foot forward. This wasn't a bending move but she instinctively knew what to do. It was almost like it was in her blood.

The pieces of earth started to move slowly back to the wall, fitting themselves back together like a jigsaw puzzle. Last, Kaiya brought her palms together and then pushed them out. The pieces contracted, forming into a solid rock again. This done the rock drifted back into the wall and settled back into its former place. Kaiya flexed her fingers and the rock expanded a hair, sealing it into the wall once more.

She turned back to the Dedicates and Lee.

They were staring at her blankly.

"How... How did you do that?" Lee came up to her.

"Earth bending, I presume. I mean, I was moving rock." Kaiya scratched her head. What was the big deal?

"That was a piece of advanced earth bending," Lee explained, awe in his voice. "I don't start on that stuff for ages yet. It's almost as advanced as metal bending."

"Really?" Kaiya asked "cool"

"Cool? Cool?! Is that all you can say? You're lying to us." Lee said

"I am?" Kaiya felt her stomach drop, she wished she had paid better attention in Drama class now.

"You're a master earth bender, aren't you?" Lee said

"No." Kaiya said

"She's not lying" Earthwave said. "I would have felt it."

"She's not?" Groundwater sounded dumbfounded.

"Yes, she truly believes that she is not a master earth bender." Earthwave said firmly.

"So we teach her?" Groundwater asked

"Yes"

"And what of the advanced earth bending she did?" Lee asked.

"It did not happen, I mended the wall." Earthwave said simply. He swept out of the training room before anyone could answer.

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeell" Lee rocked back and forward on his heels.

"Well?" Kaiya asked

"You know the drill Lee, Find her a room. You'll be tutoring her." Groundwater left before the boy could protest.

Lee stretched out a hand to the departing dedicate, opening his mouth to complain.

Kaiya cleared her throat.

"Well?" she repeated.

Lee sighed in defeat and waved his hand at her. "Come with me." He left the room out of a side door, different to the one the Dedicates had taken.

Kaiya hurried after him, she didn't want to get lost in this giant slab of earth.