Zanna lifted her head, staring down in front of her. Rali sat at the foot of, what can only be considered as, her bed. "R-Rali, what are yo-"

"Don't worry, Darling," Rali shyly replied, putting her finger over Zanna's mouth. "I'll take care of you." Rali leaned her head in, getting closer, and closer to Zanna's face.

"AHHHH!" Zanna's head flung upwards, launching herself out of the bed. "Nothing like a wet dream to wake you up." Zanna forced herself off the bed, trying her best not to pull a muscle. After yesterday, she was scared to move at all. But, nonetheless, it was time to get packing. She had to leave, no way around it. "I can't put Rali in danger, along with the rest of the town." Zanna took off her pj's, which consisted of a shirt, and put on a pair of her normal clothes. The other was already packed up.

Zanna rolled up a sleeping bag, and tied a rope around it. She packed a jacket into her bag, and piled as much food as she could into the empty pockets. She attached the sleeping bag to the pack, and slung it over her shoulder. She clipped her dagger to her waist, and walked out of the room. After her first step,

"ZANNA! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?" Rali jumped out in front of Zanna, grabbing her arm. Zanna pulled Rali close, hugging her.

"I'm leaving, and I'm not coming back." She let Rali go, and continued walking.

"W-Where are you gonna go?"

"Anywhere." Zanna stopped, and turned her head to the sky. "I can't stay here, so I'll just go somewhere." Rali stared at Zanna, watching as she got lost in her thoughts. "I'm not going to let you get hurt just for some stupid rumor. Just, be safe." Rali took one step closer to Zanna, trying not to scare her.

"L-Let's fight." Zanna turned around, confused at the suggestion. "L-Let's fight. One more time. J-Just like we used to." Zanna stared at Rali, waiting for a flinch. But, after just a few minutes of staring, Zanna nodded. Rali got into her fighting stance. Legs spread out, and loose, with her hands firm and agile. She stared down her arm, only to see Zanna. Zanna got into her own stance. Her stance was wider, but sturdier. Her legs seemed to dig at the ground under her, helping her stay in one place. Zanna lifted her arms, keeping them loose, and stared past the field. She threw her bag off her shoulder, and kicked it aside.

Rali jumped forward, punching the air in front of her, Zanna jumped over it, pushing her feet into the ground. Come on, WORK! Zanna thought to herself as she dug into the ground. Rali thrusted her other hand forward, launching another shot of fire at Zanna. Zanna quickly ducked under it, watching it just barely pass by her face. She forced herself back up, and faced Rali. Rali bent down, and swept her foot across the ground. Zanna hopped over it with ease, and put her hand on the ground, allowing her to stand on it. Rali stared on, getting ready to throw another ball of fire at Zanna. But she was too close already. Zanna forced herself back into the air, landing right in front of Rali. Rali tried to punch Zanna, but her fists were caught before they could make contact. Zanna lifted Rali's hand into the air, calling for her victory.

"It seems I've won." Rali stared at Zanna, her face was devoid of emotion. No fear, no anxiety, no happiness. She saw herself in the reflection of Zanna's eyes, and began to tear up. Zanna released Rali, and went to pick up her bag.

"IT'S NOT FAIR!" Zanna quickly turned around, surprised at Rali's sudden outburst. "YOU DIDN'T USE YOUR BENDING AT ALL!" Zanna took a step closer to Rali, Rali quickly backing up. Her face was already flooded with tears, and Zanna felt like she was making it worse.

"I can't ben-"

"THEN HOW DID YOU YESTERDAY? YOU TRAPPED THE BANDITS, YOU STOPPED THE FIRES, YOU WERE FLOATING FOR FUCK'S SAKE! HOW?"

"I don't know." Zanna took another step, Rali taking a step towards the smeltery. "All I remember is blacking out, and waking up in the tent." Rali shook her head, Zanna taking another step forward. Rali backed up, until she hit the wall of the smeltery. Zanna slowly approached, deadness in her eyes. She stared at Rali, as she was bawling her eyes out.

"Zanna, what are you gonna d-" Zanna pushed her hands onto both sides of Rali, giving her no space to move. Zanna stared into Rali's eyes. The both of them blinked, then Zanna leaned in, and pressed her lips onto Rali's. Rali's arms slowly lifted up, then dropped almost immediately. Zanna's hands lifted, and wrapped around Rali. Rali instinctively shot her arms around Zanna. They both tightened their grips, and pressed their faces together. Zanna pushed her face away, and pulled her arms away from Rali.

"I can't have you hurt. I want, no, I refuse to let myself become the reason you're hurt." Rali blushed, staring at Zanna's face.

"W-What do you mean?"

Zanna shook her head. "You use fire-bending in a way I've never read about, never seen either. You use not only the fear of your opposition, but your own fear as a weapon. You use your emotions to fuel something greater, and effect those around you. But, I can't let myself be one of those things." Rali stared at Zanna, sadness filling her own expression.

"Z-Zanna-"

"If I stay, I'm not just putting the town in danger, I'm putting you in danger. I can't let myself become your weakness." Zanna faced the ground, staring at the grain of dirt in front of her. Rali shook her head.

"Zanna, you don't understand. You are my strength, the reason I keep fighting." Zanna looked up, and stared headlong into Rali's eyes once again. "I see your determination, the drive to become an earth-bender, and I see what I want to be. Someone who won't give up. I may not be able to generate lightning, or superheat the air around me, but I won't let that stop me from trying." Zanna smiled, and started chuckling. Quickly, her chuckling became laughter. "D-did I say something wrong?"

"No, no," Zanna tried to keep herself from laughing, but only made it worse. "I never would've imagined. You, seeing me as a role model? It's strange." Rali wiped her face, and walked close to Zanna.

"Let's get out of here, Darling." Zanna smiled, and picked up her bag.

"Why don't we go pack your things first?" Rali blushed, and ran into the house.

"JUST WAIT RIGHT THERE! I'LL BE QUICK!" Zanna smiled, her own face turning red. No wonder I'm in love with her.

Zanna walked into the smeltery, wondering what was taking Rali so long. "Rali? Where are you?"

"I'M IN THE METALWORKING ROOM!" Zanna ran out of the water storage, and into the metalworking room, watching as Rali looked around the different metals.

"Rali, what are you doing?"

"Well, I thought, since we're going away for a while, why not make one last weapon. Just for us?" Zanna looked at the molds laying around.

"What will we make it out of?" Rali slid down the ladder she was on, and walked up to Zanna.

"Mixed metals."

"No."

"Come on, let's take the purest metals we can, mix it in with a few less purer metals, and get out all the impurities that we can." Zanna looked at the metals on the shelves, then at the molds on the ground. They could make an axe, or a spear, or even,

"Rali, let's make a short sword!" Rali stared at the mold, and back at Zanna.

"You know what, Let's do it." Rali smiled, pulling the mold from it's slot in the ground, and putting it on top of their hammering table. "Go light the fire, we gotta get these metals mixed together."

"Let's get the metals first, which ones are we going to be mixing?"

"Let's save the little platinum we have left, and make a steel alloy."

"Now we're talking!"

"Seems like it. Throw in some aluminum."

"You got it, Boss." Rali gathered a bucket, and threw in two twenty millimeter sized iron balls, then she started to whisper to herself. "0.15% Vandium, 0.7% silicon, 0.2% chromium, and 12% Nickle." Rali turned to Zanna. "You sure this will mix well?"

"Only one way to find out. Throw some tungsten in there, then fill the rest up with iron." Zanna picked up a shovel, picking up, and dumping, coals into an open furnace. Rali dumped a 3 millimeter ball of tungsten in, then slipped on a pair of insulated mitts, and picked up a metal pole. She lifted the bucket with the hook on the end, and carried it over to the oven, slowly putting the bucket over the coals.

"Ok," Rali spoke as she put a lid on the bucket. "Shovel some more coals up, cover it as much as possible." Zanna nodded, and got to shoveling. Rali signaled her to stop, and closed the door to the furnace.

"Can't wait to make this sword." Zanna smiled as she spoke.

"So few impurities that it'll be next to impossible to bend it." Rali smiled, getting close to Zanna.

"It'll be our little perfection." Zanna stood up, and walked over to the furnace. "If I really can fire-bend, I should be able to heat up the furnace, right?" Rali nodded.

"I always do it, I don't see why you couldn't." Rali shrugged off her own comment, as Zanna faced the furnace, and got into position.

"Am I doing it right?" Zanna asked for help, and Rali stared at the clueless Zanna.

"Your feet have to be loose, your top half stiff. Imagine the opposite of your stance." Zanna tried, but the fire was dying down.

"I'm gonna try it like this, you might need to light it afterwards." Rali nodded at the request, and stood up. Zanna thrusted her fist forward, but nothing happened. She ground her teeth, and then thrusted her other fist forward. Nothing happened, once again. Out of anger, Zanna stood up, and shoved her hands to her sides. Fire quickly shot out of her hands, and dissipated, startling Zanna. She flew backwards onto the metalworking bench. "HOLY SHIT!" Rali jumped up and down, staring at the furnace.

"YOU DID IT! ZANNA YOU DID IT!" Zanna stared at her hands.

"I-I did that? It feels so strange." Rali shot a small burst of fire at the coals under the furnace, and walked over to Zanna.

"It'll feel strange at first, but you'll get used to it." Zanna stood up, and wiped the dust off her clothes.

"You should work on your wording, Rali." Zanna smiled at her best friend, Rali smiling back. "yeah, I should."

Despite her best tries, Zanna wasn't able to keep the coals alight. Rali had to keep the temperature in check. It was a few hours, but the metals eventually melted and mixed. Zanna put the mold on the metalworking table, and Rali slid her gloves back on. She lifted the bucket out of the furnace, and poured it's contents into the mold. "Time to let it cool," Zanna smirked as she walked off.

Zanna slid the hammered out piece into the hilt they had made. It was silicon, with a plastic shell surrounding it. They had it reinforced with a bit of extra steel they had to shed off the blade. Zanna held the blade, wearing the same gloves that Rali was. Rali cracked her knuckles, and looked at Zanna. "Got a tight grip?" Rali waited for a response. Zanna fumbled around with the blade, trying to hold it as still as possible. She gave a nod, and Rali got into her stance. She opened her mouth, and breathed fire at the handle, melting it into the blade.

After the two had fully melted together, it was done. "Rali, you did a great job." Zanna slid the sword into a sheath they had set aside.

"Thirteen inches of pure death." Rali smiled, wrapping her arms around Zanna. Zanna kissed Rali's forehead, then immediately pulled her in for a tighter hug.

"I love you, Rali."

"I love you too, Zanna."

AN: Next chapter. You see the new guy on the cover? He's coming in next chapter.