Sighing, I headed for my cabin, lit a pair of candles, settled down before them, and resumed my "meditation."
The fact that I'd apparently slammed headfirst into the ceiling of my firebending abilities irritated the hell out of me — especially considering that said ceiling was still only at the level of an ordinary firebender. No matter how hard I pushed myself or what new ideas I came up with, I simply couldn't increase either the range of my attacks or the temperature of the flames.
As for changing the color of fire… that was supposedly one of the signature traits of those known as Great Masters, proof that a firebender's control over the element had reached an absurdly high level. Perhaps flames like that possessed additional properties as well, though none of the sources I'd found mentioned anything like that. Logic and physics both suggested there had to be something — possibly useless in combat, but still.
Unfortunately, all of that remained little more than fantasy for me at the moment, while I continued trying to learn how to "breathe correctly."
If only I understood what "correctly" was actually supposed to look like.
So far, the extent of my imagination had amounted to attempting to light or extinguish candles through inhaling and exhaling alone.
The results had been… nonexistent.
Obviously, without a teacher, I could keep bashing my head against this wall until my skull finally cracked open. But you had to start somewhere, didn't you?
***
The following week passed in boredom.
Training to maintain physical fitness alternated with flute playing, firebending practice, and pleasant conversations over tea with Suki. Yes, yes, I'd hauled my gifted tea collection from the cruiser onto the frigate.
Speaking of the latter, despite supposedly having "given permission"—ahem… yeah, that sounded pretty strange when phrased like that—regarding my relationships with the other girls, de facto nothing had actually changed. In fact, one of Suki's friends could end up dragged into a two-hour sparring session with my jealous warrior over something as minor as a "wrong glance."
On the one hand, that was probably for the best. I already had more than enough problems without adding female politics and "harem disputes" to the pile, and the warriors' combat abilities were improving visibly by the day.
On the other…
The girls might eventually gather together and collectively explain to their leader exactly where crayfish spend the winter. And where they spend the autumn too.
Not that I considered myself irresistibly charming or anything, but female pride was a terrifying thing. Who knew what thoughts might start brewing inside the beautiful heads of those militant island girls? And then I'd be the one left cleaning up the aftermath…
Still, for now—knock on wood and bang my forehead three times—everything remained peaceful, and apparently nobody except me was worried about the situation at all. The voyage itself proceeded steadily, quietly, and almost sleepily.
Everything changed in a single day.
And for once, the change turned out to be pleasant.
"Land on the horizon!"
The cry caught me in the middle of meditation, at the exact moment when the candle flames had seemingly begun stretching in rhythm with my breathing. Naturally, my concentration shattered immediately, and the flames resumed flickering at their ordinary, natural level.
"Damn that sharp-eyed idiot in the crow's nest! Couldn't he have yelled five minutes later?!" I roared at the cabin in sheer frustration.
Alright, fine, the lookout wasn't actually at fault. I needed to calm down. I'd become strangely irritable lately. Surely I hadn't somehow caught "that time of the month" from Suki? No, this damned exercise was definitely to blame. I felt like a complete idiot, but what else was there to do?
Well… shut the door so I wouldn't have to hear the shouting from the deck, for starters.
Straightening up and stretching my stiff back, I dragged myself out into the light.
"Сommodore, less than an hour remains until we reach Kyoshi Island."
"Excellent. Don't take us into the central bay, Captain. A Sea Serpent with a terrible personality lives there, and it has a habit of eating anything foolish enough to sail into its waters. Veer left of the bay's cape and follow the coastline—you'll find a small harbor suitable for our purposes."
"Yes, sir!" Lee saluted and hurried off to issue orders.
They were already waiting for us at the bay. Familiar girls, local islanders, and members of my crew who had been sent "on leave" stood lined up before the frigate as it entered the coastal waters.
Granted, they still had another thirty minutes of "solemn waiting" ahead of them while we transferred into smaller boats — the harbor was fairly shallow. The frigate wasn't a cruiser, of course, and its draft wasn't nearly as deep, but it was still no raider, so there was no reason to take unnecessary risks
At last, everything was ready, and we stepped ashore.
Fifteen seconds later, Suki and every single Kyoshi Warrior from the ship had been mercilessly tackled, hugged, squeezed, and dragged off in an unknown direction by the girls stationed here who'd clearly missed them terribly.
Though "reinforcements" in the form of relatives and old friends had also joined in, so my warriors never really stood a chance.
The soldiers got snatched away too, though by their own comrades-in-arms. As for me…
"On behalf of the Fire Nation delegation on Kyoshi Island, I welcome you, Herald!" Kori bowed ceremoniously, dressed in full diplomatic regalia.
"Greetings, Madam Ambassador." I returned the traditional bow.
Silence followed.
Apparently, she had no idea what she was supposed to do next. Ah well.
"By the way, Kori, I've got a letter from Morishita for you, along with a small gift. Here."
Well, yes, the mayor had asked me to deliver something to his daughter. Messenger hawks were all well and good for correspondence, but they weren't exactly useful for delivering packages. And since I was heading this way anyway, why not do a favor for a good man?
"Oh! Mom's pastries! Thank you, Master Chan!"
(End of Chapter)
P@treon: /SadRaven
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