The Blood Of The Dragon

-Chapter Two-

Scarfing down the food in front of her, the girl ate as if she hadn't eaten in days. As she grabbed at the water in front of her to wash the meal down, the man, Tallis began to speak to her.

"What is your name, child?" The girl didn't bother to glance up at him to acknowledge he had spoken, as she was too busy eating the food the man had kindly given her. After the fight in the alleyway, if you could even call it that, the man had invited her to lunch at a restaurant she had passed many times, as she scrounged the streets, however she had never had enough money to go in it to buy some grub. Tallis broke the girl out of her thoughts by repeating the question he had asked before, this proving he was curious about her. But why?

"What is your name?"  He asked the question more forcefully this time, the girl glancing upwards, appearing slightly annoyed from being interrupted while eating her food. She would hold a half eaten biscuit in her right hand as she snapped at him.

"Why do you care asshole? For all I know you could've killed me and left me to rot in that alleyway, yet you're feeding me and treating me as if I'm something more than street trash. Why is that? You answer my question and I'll answer yours." She was glaring at him, the biscuit she was holding being crushed in her fist that was tightly clenched on the table. Tallis would sigh, knowing the girl would not give up unless she got answers. She was stubborn but brave- traits he admired and saw a lot of in the place he was from.

"I train benders. That's why I invited you for lunch, not saying I wouldn't have done it for someone who wasn't a bender."

"What the hell's a bender?" The girl had loosened her grip on the poor biscuit now, although there wasn't much left of it besides crumbs. She was staring at the man all senses of anger being erased from her facial expressions, instead, she appeared curious.

"You, my child, are a bender. They are creatures that can bend different elements of magic, control it to their will. I could train you on how to use your abilities if you wish, however it is a difficult task and you must be willing to learn." Tallis was watching the girl's reaction closely, waiting for her answer. The girl glanced down at her lap as if thinking it over. How could this man train her to learn something she didn't know needed to be trained? He was a stranger, possible danger in her eyes, however she decided to go along with it.

"My name's Cora," she said softly. "I want you to tell me everything about these benders, don't leave anything out, or I'll get up and you will never  see me again." She wasn't serious about the last part but she still made the statement sound as if she meant it. The man easily picked up on her lie, but he didn't show it- he didn't have a reason to hide anything from her.

"I have just told you what a bender is. If you wish to know more about them come with me to my home to see them train. What I can tell you is benders are not liked by a lot of people, and if I were you I would want to learn how to control what I was born with before something could happen."

"You want me to come to your home- to a stranger's home, so I can watch some weirdos called benders train?! You must think I'm stupid or something old man." Cora snarled out her words although deep down she knew Tallis could possibly not be lying.

"If you don't wish to I understand, Cora. I do not want to force you into anything, however if you ever wish to master your gift this is the opportunity. Hell, you don't even have to do anything until you see the other benders training." He'd pick up his tea cup from the table, sipping it then setting it back down where it was initially located before continuing, "What I'm trying to say, if you understand is, you should just see what I am talking about before you make a decision." Tallis would push his chair from the table, rising up to his full height. He'd smile kindly at Cora who would appear deep in thought as if she was making a decision that required her entire brain function to work.

"I must be going however; I'm late and my people might start to worry. Have a good day, and I wish you the best of luck, little lady." The man would begin to walk to the door however Cora's voice would stop him.

"Wait." She'd sigh. "I'm coming also... I guess." She'd scurry after him, slightly nervous. She felt deep down though, right in her gut, that this was the right choice.  They'd then both leaving the restaurant side by side.

Little did Cora know, this single choice she made would change the whole world.

A/N: Please vote I'd like to know who's actually reading my story and appreciates it. Also, I've decided I will try to get at least one chapter out a week however there might be more if I feel like writing. Thanks for reading.