A Beautiful Flame: A New Way of Living

Ch. 3 (Pt. 2)

That night, Nuan persuaded her mother to allow Omi to sleep inside the house instead at the barn, and with Kahn's help, the old lady had to give in, Nuan showed Omi to the guestroom, a small but adequate space for a tired newcomer.

"I'll give you extra clothes to sleep-"
"No, it's alright,"

Nuan rested her hands on her hips.

"Now, you are my guest, and I won't have my guest be uncomfortable," She said sternly.

Omi smiled in defeat, Nuan had been kind and comforting, so was Kahn, they both reminded her of her own deceased parents; her mother was always care-taking and her father was light-hearted. She felt lonely at the memory of her parents, she furrowed her eyebrows trying to remember them.

It was becoming hard to even picture how they looked like.

Nuan was taking out extra blankets when she caught Omi concentrating on a thought.

"Is your head hurting again, dear?"

Omi's eyes shot open...

dear?

"Um, no ma'am, I was just thinking," Omi said as she slightly rubbed her forehead.

Nuan took her hand away, reminding Omi not to touch her injury so much.

"Tomorrow I should fetch Qin to check you,"
"Qin?"

"Yes, an herbalist, but he's more likely a doctor than a skilled professional. We sell our herbs to him,"

"Oh... b-but I have-"
"Training, I know," Nuan sighed and rolled her eyes,

~she's in no condition for harsh movements, why is Father pushing it?!~ she thought

Nuan gave her new clothes to sleep in, She stepped out to give Omi some privacy.

As she was getting into her clothes, she remembered her mother dressing her, although she couldn't recall for what, let's just say for daily chores at a master's home. Her mother would give her a small peck on the nose right after her head gone through her shirt.

She's not here to do that anymore.

Omi climbed into bed. A few tears escaped her eyes as she tried to gain some sleep.

Nuan came in when she was already fast asleep, she entered to pick up the candle beside the bed, she caught glimpse of the girl's tear-stained cheeks, slowly picking up a piece of her blanket, she wiped the girl's cheeks and graced them with the side of her hand.

~Dream beautifully Omi,~

She thought before blowing the candle's flame.

~THE FOLLOWING DAY~

"Father please!" Nuan retorted her father after breakfast

"she's not ready to make such harsh movements, think about her health!",

Jiao wiped his mouth and stood up from the table.

"The young girl is helpless, if she doesn't master her bending, then who knows what could happen."

He walked towards the door where Kahn and Omi waited outside.

"Don't worry my dear, We won't be working on techniques," He reassured.

Nuan sighed in relief.

The three people walked through the woods, Kahn carried Omi to make sure she didn't trip and fall. They past a small cottage, Omi wondered who lived there.

"We all live apart, but we work closely together,"
Kahn started to say,

"We work at the fields, all of us, and we share what we harvest. That way, we can stick together and work wouldn't be so hard for one family."

Omi listened, probably the boys she saw yesterday were the children of these families, to her curiousity she wondered who belonged where.

"Lao Kahn, where does... Jay live?"

Kahn and Jiao stopped the moment they heard the name.

"You know Jay?" Jiao asked,

"Uh... yes, I met him yesterday."

Jiao and Kahn looked at each other then they shook their heads.

"Don't let Jay nor his friends bother you so much Omi. They're not bad kids, but they could be a handful of mischief sometimes... well, most of the time." Jiao said as they continued walking.

"I see..."

They finally stopped at a grassy clearing, Omi was set down and Jiao unfolded blankets for all of them. She was told that today they would practice meditating,

"m-Mediating?"

"No, Meditating." Jiao corrected.

Meditation is important to clear the mind and practice focus.

"For fire benders, we must learn to control our bending, although our fire must show strength and power as we bend, we must learn to use it for our own protection, without control, Fire can destroy."

"Umm... are fire benders the only ones who must mm mm...meee... meeedii...?"

"Meditate, no." Jiao said.

Jiao explained that the Air Nomads are famous for their constant meditation. Because to their training, it helps to clear the mind, allowing it to wander freely, hence the element of air is the element of freedom.

Omi listened in awe of these Air Nomads. She asked for more information about them.

"It is great that you have an admiration for these people, but we must not waste any time." He said as he & Kahn positioned themselves on the ground, Omi sat as well.

An hour (that seemed like forever) Passed. Various of times had Omi blinked an eye open towards the two men "meditating", she tried to continued but then suddenly...

"Well, this is boring," She said.

Kahn let out a small chuckle as Jiao opened his eyes slowly.

"Meditating consists of concentration, clearing the mind and breath control, if you do not master your breathing, your bending will be poor enough to even make a baby laugh,"

"Besides, it's peaceful and relaxing,"

"Don't sugar coat it Kahn!" Jiao said firmly.

"Breathing is a critical step, meditation is quite useful to become a great bender on any element."

Omi rolled her eyes.

~Whatever...~

%%AUTHOR'S NOTE%%

Hey guys, it's rosebird, I'm glad that some of you wanted to continue reading, sorry if  this isn't perfect, I'm still trying, But I love this series and I can't help but to create a Fanfic of it, I hope all you have enjoyed this piece and comment to me what you think!

Adios for now!