Avatar Dakota

Chapter 2

The golden sunset dimly lit up the sky as several gathered around to watch the Agni Kai between the prince and youngest princess. The two of them were kneeling, facing away from one another. Fire Lord Kazuo stood to the side, waiting for the two of them to begin.

Dakota and Anthony stood and faced each other, disposing of their shoulder garments and taking their beginning stances. Anthony's expression held one of smugness, while Dakota's held fear mixed with determination. Clouds rumbled over head, a summer thunderstorm rolling in.

"Ready!!" An announcer started. The courtyard fell silent, suspense hanging in the muggy air. A strike of the gong marked the beginning of the fight, and Anthony wasted no time in blasting a billow of fire in Dakota's direction. Quick on her feet, she slid to the side. Anthony simply changed his aim, chasing her around the courtyard.

"I see you can run away like a coward! That's a great feat!" Anthony mocked. Dakota ignored him, continuing her dodging and redirecting.

"What the hell is she doing? Why isn't she fighting back?" Zoey questioned judgementally. Ashe watched Dakota's movements carefully.

"I know what she's doing. She's tiring him out," she explained. "Sure, Anthony is a great bender and all, but he always puts all his energy towards the first half of the fight. But...Dakota doesn't realize that she's tiring herself out too, and that Anthony has much more stamina than she does."

"So she's going to lose either way."

"Honestly? Yeah. But I'm still going to root for her."

"Psh. No use in rooting for the weak."

Ashe ignored her comment and turned her attention back to the fight. Anthony was getting visibly more tired, but Dakota was too. The crowd was getting rowdy, demanding that Dakota fought back. She felt a sudden anxiety, which made her temporarily vulnerable. Anthony's attack just barely missed her, and she repositioned herself. She felt a charge building up inside of her, but she wasn't sure what it was. Anthony's attacks stopped.

"Tell you what, I'll let you charge up your strongest attack and you can take a stab at me. Sound good, Kota?"

Dakota nodded and Anthony stood at the ready. She began to move her body slowly, using flowing movements to bring fire around her. The charge in her began to grow stronger and more noticeable. The fire ring around her grew bigger and spun faster. She raised up the hand behind her, bringing fire up.

The sky erupted in a loud bang of thunder and a bright flash of blue lightning. The lightning hit her fingers and, on instinct, she directed it back towards Anthony. The crowd gasped and Anthony held wide eyes. He was fast though, and managed to direct it back to the sky. He still felt the hurt of the zap, as he had little experience with lightning.

Lightning bending, or even just redirection, had been long frowned upon ever since a rebellion group used lightning to cause mass bloodshed. Though it wasn't illegal, most who knew how to bend lightning were feared. Now, the Fire Nation knew that the prince, one of the princesses, the Avatar no less, could redirect lightning.

The battlefield was quiet. Dakota stared at her hands, trembling slightly at the release of power.

"I...didn't know I could do that... Anthony, I didn't mean-"

While her guard was down, a large swell of fire rushed at Dakota. She shrieked and turned her back to it to keep from anything important getting burned. She screamed and fell over as the fire gnawed at her back, leaving a permanent burn to serve as a reminder of this day. The fire dissipated, and Dakota was left huddled up on the ground.

"Anthony is the winner!" The announcer called. The crowd cheered loudly for him. Ashe ran out on to the battlefield.

"Dakota!!" She yelled. She knelt down and made the mistake of putting her paw on Dakota's back. It felt hot to the touch, and Dakota let out a suppressed scream through clenched teeth. Ashe lifted her paw from the remains of Dakota's tank top. Beneath rested a scar. Her fur was singed, never to grow back the same again. Ashe lifted her up gently into her arms. Dakota kept her face turned away from her sister. Ashe turned to Anthony, joined by Zoey, who looked slightly worried about Dakota.