Broken Spirit: The Next Avatar

Chapter Nine: Serefina

"Something's not right."

I look up from the scroll I was studying. Levi is standing in the doorway to my room, an urgent look on his face.

"Yeah, no kidding. No one uses wooden staffs anymore. These forms are useless." I toss the scroll on my bed with a dramatic flair.

He ignores my attempt at humor and says, "I think Nadia's in trouble."

I study his face. "Why would you think that?"

"She hasn't responded to my letter, and it's been four days."

I try to keep a blank face. Ever since Nadia and Terra left to search for an earthbending master (even though Terra would be a perfectly fine teacher, in my opinion), Nadia and Levi have been writing each other letters nonstop. It would be adorable if it wasn't annoying.

I wonder what they even talk about sometimes.

Oh, today I pushed an even bigger rock.

Yesterday the airbenders taught me how to bake.

I take a breath and say, "Training is a lot of work. Maybe she's just been too busy."

"No, something's wrong. I can feel it."

"I'm not checking up on someone in the middle of training just because of a feeling. She'd planned to be gone two months, right? She still has a couple weeks. If she hasn't responded or come back by then, we'll go look for her."

I realize, too late, how harsh I sound. My tone softens a little. "We don't even know where she is. Give her some time, I'm sure she'll reply."

"I guess you're right," he says. "I'm overreacting. I'll let you get back to whatever you're doing."

I glance at the abandoned scroll, and the pile of others just like it. "Actually, let's do something else."

One eyebrow disappears into his hair. "Like what?"

"Show me how you made those cakes."

***

Pema shakes her head, still unsatisfied. "You're doing the motions right, but your stance is still wrong. You want to be light on your feet, which allows you to essentially move with the wind."

Firebenders are quick, not rooted to the ground like earthbenders, but any element has a more solid stance than airbenders, who I'm convinced have no real stance at all.

My hands spin in a circle in front of me, forming a small whirlwind that sucks in anything unfortunate enough to be close by. Small sticks and leaves fly towards me. One leaf smacks me in the face and I have to force myself to stay focused.

"Good," Pema says. "Now, I want you to try that new trick I showed you."

I perform a similar motion, but more concentrated and aimed at the ground. A small sphere of air forms, like a spinning top. Without hesitation, I jump on top of it. This time, I manage to stay floating in midair. A large smile tears across my face before I can stop it. Supposedly Avatar Aang invented this move. I've never felt closer to my past lives than in this moment.

"Excellent, Serefina!" my teacher says. "Now let's work on your multitasking."

Small nuts hover off the ground near her feet and fly towards me. Keeping one arm centered to maintain the air scooter, I swipe my other arm straight up to deflect the projectiles. Next she aims bowls and other objects at me, and I almost lose my balance several times. Finally, she propels a thick blanket at me.