Avatar: The New World

Chapter 14: A Lesson in Volatility Part 2

Rorrick

"Are you seriously this stupid?" Nari was pacing back and forth, pinching the bridge of her nose as Lee put out Rorrick's latest fire. "It's been a week and you still can't do anything right!"

"I'm trying! Maybe you're just not good at teaching."

"What did you say?"

"Mae never made me feel this bad and she started with little things! You're pushing me into stuff I'm not comfortable with."

"You're not gonna learn if you don't push yourself!"

"Fine, I'm pushing, okay?"

"You know you killed forty people?"

Rorrick felt a hot blade of emotion sear through him. "What?"

"When you escaped Capital City, you started the inferno that killed forty people. Not to mention all the ones who will live with permanent burns over their bodies."

Rorrick sat down on the ground and Bowie moved to lie by his side. "Forty people?"

"That's right, and if it weren't for me it would have been way worse."

"What do you mean if it weren't for you?"

"I put out that fire, Rorrick. I cleaned up your mistake because I'm stronger and smarter than you. That's why I'm the teacher and you're just the stupid student."

Bowie growled up at Nari but Rorrick placed a soothing hand behind his ear. "I'm not stupid, I'm just worried."

"Stop being worried!" Nari swung a fist and a blade of blue fire swept through the air, blasting each of Rorrick's targets with one impressive show of power. "Fire is not worried!" She swept out her leg in a low kick and her blue fire blasted the fallen targets again. "Fire is a beast." She spun around and tornadoes of flames erupted around the pillars of wood the targets had been sitting on. "It consumes everything." The flames disappeared, leaving nothing but ash that blew away in the gentle breeze. "You need to be stronger than the beast to control it."

"I'm not a beast, Nari. I'm not as strong as you."

Nari flashed a look of disgust down at Rorrick. "That's a pity," she said, "we had such big plans for you."

"I'm so sick and tired of all this save the world crap!"

"Save the world?" Nari said it as if it was the first time she'd ever heard the words. Surely she had been told why she was teaching him, wasn't she?
"Yeah, save the world. That's what you were talking about wasn't it? Your big plans?"

"Save the world from what, exactly?" Nari asked. Her eyes were hungry for information.

"Rorrick!" Mae's voice was carried by the wind, amplified around them loud enough to stop Rorrick from speaking. She was approaching from the place where the targets had been destroyed. "I think we need to talk."

Rorrick got to his feet and so did Bowie. Mae reached their side and Rorrick noticed that Nari looked put out by the interruption. "Sure, whatta you need?"

"Not here," Mae said, "Come back with me to the Library."

Nari held out an arm to prevent Rorrick from leaving. "But I'm in the middle of a lesson."

Mae stared at Nari. It was the first time Rorrick ever saw that kind of silent rage in his old mentor's eyes. "You will have plenty of time to complete your lesson later."

"We'll complete it now, I think." Nari's hands erupted with blue flames and Rorrick stepped back. Mae leapt and spun around, unleashing a blast of air that hit Nari in the chest and sent her flying backwards. Lee gathered a blade of ice in his hand and tossed it at Mae but she was quick to knock it down and blast Lee to the ground as well.