Avatar: The Red Dragon

Chapter 2: The Decision

Nanami suddenly opened her eyes suddenly, gasping heavily. She closed them to help relax, taking deep, slow breaths and sat cross-legged on her bed after opening her eyes again. She turned her head towards the mirror. Her golden eyes were not shining, nor her body.

Was it a dream after all? But it felt so real! she thought, still confused by what might have happened last night.

She got out of her bed and walked to open the curtains. The sun had just risen over the horizon and its rays filled her room with sunlight. She then headed out of her bedroom and went downstairs. The stairs led directly into the kitchen, where her parents were already preparing for the day. She greeted them and walked into the shop customers' area where her siblings were already eating breakfast.

"Morning Nanami! What's with the troubled face?" her sister asked upon her arrival.

"I had a strange dream," she answered while taking a seat across from her sister. "But I'm not sure if it was a dream," she added.

She took a sweet bun and started eating.

"That's rare coming from you! What did you dream about?" her brother, who was sitting next to her, asked.

She told them what happened. Shuu and Manami listened to their younger sister, looking surprised and perplexed at her story.

"Your hands were on fire? Like in firebending?" Manami asked while frowning with incomprehension.

"Your hands don't go on fire when you're firebending. You're supposed to make fire with them," Shuu said with his mouth full. "But, hey, it would suit you! To be a firebender! You're pretty hot-blooded after all!"

"Grandma is hot-blooded too but she's not a firebender!" Nanami replied and the three of them laughed together.

"Are you badmouthing me, kids?" her grandma asked, standing behind Nanami.

"Oops, Grandma Masuko! Nope, we were talking about the dream I had last night," Nanami said awkwardly.

She told her grandmother about her strange night. Masuko carefully listened to the little girl's story and then smiled when Nanami stopped talking.

"What would you do if you were truly a firebender, Nanami?" she asked with a serious tone, looking into her granddaughter's golden eyes.

"If I was a real firebender?" she repeated thoughtfully. "Hmm... I'd want to be a military officer, maybe? To fight for the Fire Nation citizens! And I'd want to explore the world too! On a ship! 'Cause the Fire Nation has got a big fleet!"

"Is that so? A military officer huh?" her grandmother said in a mysterious tone, walking away.

The three kids looked at her going to the back of the shop, puzzled by her reply.

"So, will you enroll in the Royal Fire Academy then? If you wish to be a military officer," Manami asked her little sister, resuming the conversation from earlier.

"What? No! I don't really want to be a military officer! It was just a 'what if'! I'm no firebender!" Nanami answered.

"But if you really want to do something for your nation, the best choice is to attend the academy," Shuu stated. "You'll learn a lot, and you'll be able to do lots of things by the time you graduate. It might not be a bad idea to consider it."