When Limit Hits

Chapter 3

«How did you– Rangi you can... lightningbend? This is extremely weird, but isn't it a rare thing?» Kyoshi was genuinely concerned. The last time she dealt with lightning almost killed her. «You told me it was that rare some people thought it appeared only in legends.»

The breath of southern wind was playing with strand of hair that fell off the firebender's topknot. Rangi was still looking at the line where cloudless sky met restless sea.

«It was, until I realized what is the core of this thing. And now I want to teach you. Ever since your leitai with Xu I couldn't help but think of the way you got hurt because of my immature guidance,» Rangi's head tilted more to her chest as if she was trying to hide her face, humiliated. Her shoulders were heavy with avowal.

«Rangi,» Kyoshi said after a while. «I've never blamed you for what happened and I never will. Not even the brightest firebender master would have taught me the way of lightning projection. Xu was kept by governors in order to learn about this skill more, remember?» the girl was trying to put some sense into firebender's empty self-dispraise. «How could you teach me something that didn't even exist as a common practice?»

«I know– I know, it is just... I still want you to be prepared for... everything. Every possible danger on your way. I can't let you get hurt. You know I couldn't bear to lose you,» said Rangi, reminiscing to that moment near the lake, where she first told Kyoshi this exact phrase.

«I couldn't bear to lose you, too», said Kyoshi embracing firebender from the back. «I will be careful dealing with bad guys, I promise.»

Rangi's hand covered Avatar's interlocked fingers. She touched the trace of scars left from the first strike of lightning Kyoshi got hit with. Her heart skipped a beat.

«I know you will, but just to make sure you have an ace up your sleeve you are going to learn this technique,» the tone of girl's voice was indisputable. «Shall we start with stance training, what do you think?»

Kyoshi's arms were still around Rangi's waist and she didn't see her face, but she knew for sure the girl was smiling. It was a rhetorical question, so Kyoshi restraint herself and shuffled feet to the sides. Rangi wouldn't tolerate repeating twice.

«The universe just loves breaking my attitude off, doesn't it?» said the girl in the Horse stance as her hotwoman-sifu chackled, examining Kyoshi's posture.

«Good girl,» said firebender moving forward to face the Avatar. There was something special in ordering a person of this high status to spread their legs at command. Special and satisfying.

«Maybe you could tell me how exactly you figured the lightning bending out as I stand here motionless? You know, to make my misery less dull and stodgy.»

«Less talking and more focus. And there is no misery, just training,» a while later she added, «Fine. I will tell you.»

Rangi drew a sigh.

«When I was attacking Yun I used a very rare technique of the white flames, the same I used with Ikari. I had a lot of time to practice it since our confrontation, so I mastered it pretty well. Nevertheless, in order to produce white flames the positive energy in your body must take over the negative one. Very few benders in this world can do such a thing. It is as hard to separate as it is to maintain. So, when I went back to my normal firebending state I couldn't understand what was off with me, but the energy within my body seemed to get a little wild,» she knitted her brows. «It felt like positive and negative energy constantly imbalanced with each other in a way I couldn't control. It was terrifying but empowering, especially in the moments of them going back together. I never let myself to do such thing during my training, but I was so filled with rage and agony, I couldn't find a way to set things in a right way again.»