"The flow of life is as the river; it has its rapids and it has its smooth waters. But never does the water stop. Always in motion, life is."

-Master Antonius of Clan Impera to his son, Aelius of Clan Impera

The eternal lights of Republic City seem to do nothing to illuminate the dark streets of the Crescent Moon district. Making sure to keep my hood up and my hair hidden from sight, I walk past all the seedy bars and "motels" that make the Crescent Moon the seediest and most corrupt district in all of the City. Sitting along the cracked sidewalks are the occasional drunks, the beggars, and the women who have to sell their bodies to make enough money to eat.

I step over a man who is either passed out or dead. In the Crescent district, one is as likely as the other. The people living in the upper districts don't understand what exactly causes the Crescent district to be as dark and disgusting as it is, and most of them don't care. The President has tried to put people in charge of cleaning it up, but all the money that is set aside for the district disappears into the dark pockets of the corrupt officials that preside over the district.

I hear laughter and breaking glass through an open door as I walk by. There was a time when I would have gone inside and see if anyone needed my help, but those times are long gone.

I keep walking. I look down at the cracks in the sidewalk, and make certain not to make eye contact with anyone walking by.

"Hey, man, you want some of the good stuff?" A man on the sidewalk asks me. I look up for a second and see the dirty man holding out a thick bundle of leaves. "Cheap, only thirty Yuan."

I keep walking. I tried some of the drugs the dealers offer before, a few years back. After once or twice, I realized that the high wasn't worth the side effects. It took me two months before the cravings went away. Since then, I never indulged myself in the hallucinations that I could get lost in.

A large car drives over the mottled street. A few dirty hands are sticking out of the car's broken windows, brandishing dusty bottles of a yellow substance. I make certain to stay out of their way. Cars hit people a lot here. Drunks do not pay attention to massive objects flying their direction. The people that give up on life don't bother waiting for cars to kill them, though. They use knives.

I wait under a streetlamp for a few cars to go by. The lamp flickers a few times, and then the light bulb finally dies. Through sheer force of will, I do not sprint across the street. I continue waiting for the cars to go by, and once they're all gone, I cross the street.

I hear footsteps following me.

I do not speed up my steps. We're just going in the same direction, I tell myself. Nothing to be worried about.

I reach the other side of the street, and I hear the footsteps quiet down behind me. Quickly, I turn around, and see a tall figure walking away from me.

I sigh. That could have ended badly.

I turn back around, and return my hands back to the pockets of my jacket. I shift uncomfortably as I turn a corner. I quickly scan both sides of the street. It looks normal, and no one gives me any attention, so I keep walking down the street. In the distance, I see a large yellow sign that says "Golden Dragon Café." I almost jump with joy, but I restrain the emotion.

I do, however, quicken my pace now that my destination is in sight. A few beggars ask me for money, and more than one try to tell me their sob stories. I've heard every lie in the Crescent Moon, every attempt for sympathy. If I were to tell my story, and sit on the corner like them, I wouldn't get any more attention than they do.

I realize, after a few streetlights, that I'm rubbing the silver ring on my right hand with the side of my thumb. A memory comes back to me, of screams and the sound of convulsing muscles.

Without thinking about it, I close my eyes. "Go away, go away, go away!" I whisper under my breath. Not now, not now, I silently beg. I can't start crying in the middle of the sidewalk. Someone will see my weakness.

I open my eyes. I don't feel any wetness on my face, so I keep walking. I don't look anyone in the eye. I do not rub my ring. I do not respond to anyone. I just keep walking.

"Hey, girlie," I hear a voice say. Without thinking, I turn around. A tall man stands there, a yellow grin pointed at me. He's wearing a torn shirt, and from seven feet away I can smell the alcohol on his breath and clothes.

With a trembling hand, I feel for my hood. It's down. I realize that it must have fallen down when I turned to look at the man that followed me across the street.

The man takes a few steps closer, under the yellow streetlamp light. I see unshaven stubble on his face, and a nose that looks like it's been broken more than a few times. "What say you and I go back to my place," he slurs out.

"N-n-n-no thank you," I stutter out. Spirits, not now. Please don't do this to me.

The man smirks, and pulls a small object out of his pocket. He flicks a wrist, and I see a metal glint flick out. "How about we just enjoy ourselves right here, then?" He brandishes his knife. "Plenty of space."

I take a few steps back, and then turn and run. I feel my hair play out behind me. I don't bother to put my hood back up; everyone's already seen me. I pass by a dark alleyway. It looks deserted, so I turn back around and run into it.

My footfalls make loud echoes against the dirty concrete. I run by a disgusting dumpster, and I hide behind it out of view of the alley entrance.

I wait a few minutes. I close my eyes, and take a few deep breaths. That was a close call. I don't hear anything now, except the normal sounds of the district. I stand up from my hiding spot.

And I feel a rough hand grab my neck.

In the darkness, I see the outline of the drunk man. "Knew I'd find a dirty girl like you waiting for me. They always do."

I try to struggle out of his grasp, but he is too strong. He's not choking me completely, so I can still breath. "Just let me go, I'll give you anything. Please!" I beg.

The dark man laughs, and I hear the unzipping of a zipper. I see the outline of his knife as the hand holding it begins to unzip my jacket.

My heart begins to pound. I look around for some sort of escape from this nightmare, but I don't see anything. I look in the man's dark eyes and see only his lust. Desperation drives people to do insane things, and this man is desperate.

He takes my jacket off, and leans back to admire his handiwork. He probably can't see anything because of the darkness, so he's probably drunkenly imagining what my shirt is covering.

The man lessens his grasp on my neck. "My, you're a beauty, aren't you girlie?"

I don't answer, because I'm feeling a familiar feeling come over me. My body almost trembles in fear, and I feel one of my hands come up of its own accord.

My fingers move like spider legs, and the man lets go of my neck. I hear gurgles coming from his throat, and he is thrown a few feet away from me.

I raise my arm, and the man rises into the air. The man starts to scream, but I bring up my other arm and twist it. The man's jaw slams shut with an audible clack.

I feel the power run through me. "You have no idea." I say. I feel the darkness in my voice as my power runs through me. I take a deep breath as through I can inhale the darkness from the alleyway. I feel the man's blood run through his body. It's just like heavier water. I can feel his muscles under my control, and I can feel his heat beating as fast as a lop-eared rabbit.

I smile. Moving my arms with jerking motions, I bring the man closer to me.

"Please," he drunkenly begs. "Let me go!"

I look at the hand still holding the knife. A thought comes to me, and I imagine making the man slit his own stomach open. I imagine the rich red liquid pouring out of him in retribution for what he almost did to me…

I blink a few times. A red haze seems to fade away from my vision, and I look at my hands. They begin to tremble. The man drops to the dirty ground, gasping like a fish.

I ignore him, and look at my hands. I feel something grasp at my stomach, and I look down and see that nothing is there.

Spirits, I almost did it again.

I sprint out of the alleyway and run all the way down the sidewalk. I feel tears running down my face, and I try to wipe them away. But they keep coming. I try to fight them, but they keep pouring down my face.

I make it to the clean handles of the Golden Dragon Café, and I throw open the door. Through my blurry vision, I see several round tables spread across the Café. Only a few people are here this time of night. One of them, an old man wearing a tattered yellow apron, is sweeping the floor. He turns to look at me, a smile on his face.

When he sees me, his smile vanishes. "Terumi," he says, concern in his voice. He drops his broom and hurries over to me. "What happened?" He asks?

I fall into his arms, sobbing. I try to form words, but they aren't coherent. The old man just pats me on the back, saying words in an attempt to comfort me, but they don't work.

I realize that the man has led me over to a table in a corner of the Café. He snaps his fingers and orders someone to bring him a pot of tea. I can't see anything through my blurry eyes, so he helps me sit down in a chair. I put my head on the clean wooden table, and I continue sobbing. I'm a monster. A witch. I wanted to hurt that man instead of just running. I wanted to…

I wanted to kill him.

I sob harder.

"Teru," the old man says. His voice is old and wise. "The flying bison that does not shed in the heat will die from the heat." I hear the comforting noise of flowing water, and I raise my head an inch in order to see the old man pouring a dark liquid into two teacups. "Now shed your fur, and tell me what happened."

I move into an upright position, and wave my hand. The tears float free of my face and fall onto the floor. "A man," I start. My voice is still wavering, but I try to keep it steady. "Chased me into an alley."

"Say no more, my child." The old man says. "Drink your tea."

I do as he commands. The tea tastes strong, and it makes me blink a few times. I drain my entire cup in a few swift gulps. I place the cup back on the saucer. "I hurt him." I say more to myself than the man.

The old man nods. "If you did not," he says firmly. "He would have hurt you, and abused your womanhood." He looks at me with firm golden eyes.

"I wanted to…" I start to say, but the man silences me with his eyes.

"You would have had every right to, my child," The man sips from his tea. "But you did not."

I remember the feeling of the drunken man's muscles under my control. "I'm a monster. I'm a danger to everyone I'm around." The words start pouring out of me like a torrent of water. "To you, to everyone in Republic City-"

"My child," the old man says firmly. I look at him as I feel the tears running down my face. "You have a gift." He refills my teacup, and I look down at my still-trembling hands.

"Everyone in this world can bend a certain element," the man continues. "There have been no nonbenders for the past forty years. Are we all monsters?"

"No! You're not. My parents weren't." I fight back the memories of my parents.

"The Spirits gave you the gift to bend the waters of the oceans and of life itself. That in itself is a blessing." The man takes a sip of his tea.

"You can shoot lightning," I begin to say. "And control fire. I need to be around water in order to use my powers. You just create fire out of nowhere."

The old man smiles at me. "Fire burns, lightning kills. Water heals. How am I not a monster, when compared to a young girl like you?"

I look down at my reflection in my tea. I see my mother in my soft face. "You aren't."

The old man reaches over and places his wrinkled hand on mine. "If I am not, then you are not as well."

I look up at the old man. His orange eyes remind of the comforting heat from a fireplace during the coldest months. I bring my hands to my chest and bow in my seat. "Thank you, Admiral Sozin. Your wise words bring comfort to me."

The old man laughs, his frail body moving up and down with youthful energy. "My days as an Admiral are long past, my young friend. Giving comfort to friends is a lot simpler than serving in the Navy."

I look around the Café. On the walls are gorgeous hand drawn pictures of the Fire Nation islands and the walls of Ba Sing Sae. I even see a picture of a dragon flying into a sunset. The people in the Café pay little attention to the pictures. They're much more focused on the superb tea and the safety that the Golden Dragon has to offer.

The man looks at me as I look around the Café. "You could stay here for tonight, if you wish. I can imagine if you don't want to sleep on the streets, tonight."

I look at the old man. I've known the Admiral since I was born, but never has he shown me as great a kindness as tonight. "Are you sure that would be ok?" I ask, not believing his offer.

The aged Admiral closes his eyes and nods. "I can have Leau Song prepare a cot for you in one of the spare rooms upstairs."

I think for a while about the offer. "Can I help around the kitchen?" I ask the Admiral.

The man looks up at me. "You cannot just accept my gift, can you Terumi?" He sighs. "You can clean the floors. I will bring you a bucket."

The Admiral stands up and begins to walk away. As he places his hand on the doorknob to the kitchen, he turns around. "Terumi," He says.

"Yes, Admiral?" I ask.

"I'm proud of you for not killing that man." He says solemnly, and then he opens to the door to the kitchen.

As he walks through the door, a little voice speaks out inside my heart.

You monster.

In my dreams, I see my mother. Her silky brown hair runs down her back in a single braid. She walks across a icy lake towards me, her white dress flowing around her like water. I try to open my mouth and speak, but I can't let out a single word.

"I love you, Terumi." Her voice sounds like it's underwater. "I love you, Terumi."

I open my eyes and jerk myself awake. I know how the dream ends, and I don't want to spent another night curled up in a ball crying.

Instead, I roll over and try to go back to sleep. The thin blankets that the Admiral gave me keep the cold Republic City night from my skin.

"Its time you paid your money, old man."

I hear a gruff voice from downstairs. Then I hear the Admiral's calm and authoritative voice.

"I do not owe you anything. Unless you would like some tea, get out of my shop."

I imagine the scene downstairs. It's probably one of the gangs that force "protection money" out of shop owners in the district. They have probably brought some muscle to back them up too, because everyone knows that Admiral Sozin is a masterful Firebender. Its why the Café is a place of solace for so many.

Without thinking, I immediately fumble for my clothes in the darkness. I pull on my shirt and pants and hurry downstairs.

The sight is exactly what I expected. Two huge men are flanking Admiral Sozin while a smaller one orders him to pay his "protection fee." The Admiral is wearing a light yellow robe, and his grey hair is up in a traditional Fire Nation topknot.

One of the muscular men looks at me. "Boss," he says in a deep voice. "Problem."

The small man looks around the Admiral at me. The Admiral turns as well, and his eyes go wide. "Terumi, go back up stairs!"

The small man looks at me with sharp green eyes. "Well hello, dolly? Come to save your grandpop?" The small man flicks a grey finger, and I realize his hands are coated with stone. "Gentleman, make the girl feel comfortable."

The two massive men start walking towards me. One of them coats his hands with flame, and the other one summons a sphere of air to his side.

I look around the Café. My eyes lock onto the bucket of water that I used to clean the floor with earlier. I summon the water to my hands just in time to block a fireball coming towards me.

The Airbender directs a gust of wind towards my legs, and I jump up over it. I make a circular motion with my arms, and the stream of water swings around towards the Firebender's head. He ducks, but the Airbender gets slammed in the cheek. He returns with a blast of air, and I take most of it in the center of my chest.

I get knocked back against a table, and I see the Admiral trading blows with the small man. Before I can come to his aid, I twirl off the table to avoid getting hit with a stream of fire that breaks the table in half.

I summon my water back to me, and I begin to spin it around my chest in a circle. I move my hands in circular arcs, and two whips of water extend from the ring around my body to surge towards the two large men.

The Airbender dodges it, and the Firebender merely takes the blow on one of his arms. I see my whip cut his forearm, but he doesn't make any acknowledgement of pain.

I continue attacking with my whips, making long sweeps in both men's direction. They dodge them all as I realize how outmatched I am.

The Firebender kicks towards me, and a powerful blast of fire hurtles towards me. I duck, but the motion causes me to lose control of my whips. The water drops to the wooden floor. The Airbender takes advantage of this, and summons a gust of air to lift me up in the air and slam me against the ceiling.

My vision blacks out with the impact, and I fall to the floor. I slowly get back up, and I see both men towering over me.

One of them kicks me in the ribs. The other just laughs. "Stay down, doll, unless you really want to get hurt."

I groan, and my head falls down to the wood. The wood is damp, and I realize I'm lying in a growing puddle of blood. My blood. I weakly run my hand over my head, and I feel a patch of damp hair. I bring my hand to my face and realize that I must have cut my head when I hit the ceiling.

I groan, and my vision starts to grow blurry. I see the two men grab Admiral Sozin from behind. I reach a hand out in a feeble attempt to stop them.

A drop of blood rises in front of my eye. It's only a single drop, but the thick liquid seems to call to me.

Do it. A voice inside me whispers. You can save him.

I close my eyes. I can't. I'll hurt someone again.

A memory stirs, and I remember Admiral Sozin's words a few hours earlier.

"My child, you have a gift."

I open my eyes, and the world takes on a tint of crimson. I stand up, feeling the power surge through my body again. I raise a hand, and the men holding Sozin freeze.

I raise my other arm, and I flick my wrists in opposite directions. The two men crash into opposing walls, the Airbender knocking down a few pictures on impact.

The small Earthbender looks at me. I see a knife in his hands, and it's pointed towards Sozin's chest. "Now, dolly, we were only messing around, ok?"

I think of the knife the drunken man had threatened me with earlier. He was only trying to "mess around" too.

I raise a hand, and make a fist. The man holding the knife rises into the air. His body trembles under my power. "It's all fun and games," I say. I feel the power coursing through my veins, and I feel the man's every breath and muscle under my command.

I make a shoving motion, and the man flies out the golden doors of the Café. "Until someone get's hurt." I finish. The crimson tint vanishes from the world, and I fall to my knees. The world turns black, and I pass out.

But not before I hear the Admiral curse under his breath. "My child, my child." He says. "We really have to work on your sense of humor."