The Real Ram

Chapter 22

 After a few more wishes and thank you's, Mr. X leaves us and we start training. Flame tells me I can skip today since I'm celebrating my birthday. I told him I'd rather practice than do that. Besides, we have a tournament in two days and we need to be ready. I need to be ready.

"Agh!" I look over to see Trish dropping her hands in anger.

"What's wrong, Trish?" Flame calls.

"This water technique is crazy hard," she crosses her arms and glances over at me. "Zoe, can you help me?"

"Why me?"

"Well you can like, see abilities right?" I nod, "Then maybe you can tell me what I'm doing wrong." I look over to Flame and he gestures for me go ahead and he walks over to help Beast. I walk over to Trish and take a look at the water bending instructions.

I remember them from my mother's notebook. I feel a ping in my gut, but ignore it. She would talk about form's like this to me when I was little. "The instructions are wrong, the stance doesn't allow you a proper flow of energy," I tell her.

"What? That's not true, the instructions are always right."

"Actually I have to agree with Zoe for this," Flame call from the other side of the room. "Many of the instruction sheets were made in a rush. I've had to figure out different stances for moves more than once."

"What should I do then?" Trish asks.

"Zoe knows," Flame replies focusing back on Beast and Shawn. They are working on new techniques as well.

I narrow my eyes at him then turn to Trish. "Try opening your shoulders more. That might allow proper flow." Trish takes the stance and opens her shoulders. I turn my eyes to see ability flow and find the second flaw. "Open your hand. The flow doesn't get to your fingers when they're in a fist like that." She does as I say and I see the energy flow balance. "Now try it again but with the same force you use with your waves." She stands up, then drops into the correct stances and I nod my head. "That looks good."

"Another thing I don't get it is what the water's supposed to do. This is just a stance Flame told me to master. He said it would help but I don't see how."

My mother told me what this stance does. Flame's right, it is a powerful water control stance. I take my water bottle and unscrew the lid. I dump the water onto the floor and say, "Direct your energy flow to the water puddle."

Trish rolls her eyes and gets ready. She drops into the stance and I watch as she directs her power to the puddle. Instantly the water shoots from the ground all over Trish and I. I laugh and say, "It's a water bomb!"

"Wow! That's cool!" Trish says laughing.

"Use that in a battle, and you'll surely catch your opponent off guard. They'll be too stunned to fight for a few seconds," Flame calls from across the room.

"Sweet," Trish smiles, looking for more water bottles to pour out.

"Zoe, may I talk to you?" Flame says calling me over to him. I walk to him and he takes me off to the side. Still happy for Trish, I don't recognize his demeanor until I look at him. My smile fades quickly.

"Flame, everything okay?"

"Zoe, I haven't been quite honest with you," he says. I can feel the sadness he's suppressing.

"Honest about what?"

It seems like he has something to say, but he doesn't know if he can, or should. He sighs, and he shakes his head, "I need to show you something, follow me."