𝑺𝑬𝑬𝑫 𝑶𝑭 𝑰𝑪𝑯𝑶𝑹 •𝒃𝒙𝒃•

3 ~ heat

AN: Lol. I'm back. It's been a while! ^-^

He stood there, with his hands trembling, and did not know what to do.

"Guren?"

It wasn't listening to him. Not like before. It wouldn't even budge. Nowhere at all.

"Is something the matter?"

Noran was insistent at getting an answer, but Guren couldn't give him one, not now, especially not now. He was too busy staring at the unmoving water in front of him and wondering what went wrong.

It wouldn't...move. No matter what he did. No matter if he copied his mother's movements, no matter if he did the exact same thing as he did before, as his mother had briefly explained to him, it just wouldn't move.

He couldn't Waterbend.

"It's not...working," he muttered, blankly staring at his hands, "It's...not working, Noran," Slowly, he raised his head and looked ahead of himself. "Why isn't it working?"

The man that stood before him had no answer, instead he as well had a completely blank expression.

"It...isn't working?" Noran asked him, taking one step forward. "You can't...Waterbend."

It was a statement.

Guren couldn't believe it, so he pushed the thoughts aside, slid his foot across the ice and extended his hands. He breathed in, just like his mother taught him, and curled his fingers, drawing his hands near as he leaned his body forward.

And then...there was nothing.

He couldn't Waterbend.

He couldn't Waterbend.

He couldn't Waterbend.

"Listen, Guren, we shouldn't be jumping to conclusions-"

Conclusions? Wasn't he the one who said it; that he can't Waterbend?

"Perhaps you're tired, or still in shock after what happened!"

Excuse after excuse. One after another. No matter what he said next, it wouldn't change the fact that he couldn't do the one thing he learned from his mother.

The water laid there, as if mocking him. Slowly, gently, patiently, a sort of heat built up beneath his skin, like the sun that used to warm him back home, like the little golden rays that danced across his skin. Slowly, gently, patiently, it burned, spreading within him, clogging every part of him and turning his body into lead instead.

His finger breached the surface and the sizzling began, akin to hushed whispers in the wind.

Fleeting silver mist came next, and the water was no more.

"Guren...?"

Upon realising what happened; what he did, Guren pulled his hand back as if burned.

He wasn't a Waterbender.

"I'm sorry..." The words left him breathless, for he couldn't even breathe in. "I'm sorry..." Yet he said it again, as if air held no value to him, as if it were worthless in his eyes.

Perhaps it was in that moment.

Noran's arms felt cold around his burning body, but the heat stayed, unrelenting, even under such circumstances. "Don't apologise to me, there's no need for that."

Guren couldn't move, soundless words repeating over and over inside his mind.

I'm sorry, Mother...I'm sorry, Mother...I'm sorry, Mother...I'm sorry, Mother...