Day 0:

It was the end of a warm day and the sun would set within the next hour. Many young people had gathered in the main hall of the school for the welcoming speech and dinner. The air was filled with the conversations of reuniting friends that hadn't seen each other all summer and first years that shyly introduced themselves to one another and asked questions about where to go. The latter were gathered and instructed by Master Shang Gua about where to sit and how to behave. "You sit down and be quiet. And don't speak when the headmaster speaks! I'm keeping an eye on you!" He said in his stern and squeaky voice. "Especially you!" He threatened the kid that looked the most harmless and frightened.
A voice of honey interrupted him. "Master Shang, please don't scare our students away before we ever get the chance to teach them something."
"That's Master Gua to you Miss Leanara Blackwater! And these kids are going to be nothing but trouble if we don't keep them under control!"
He leaned toward her and hissed softly: "we've already been too soft on the kids from last year, and look where that took us!"
Miss Lea could recall a prank the students pulled on Master Gua, but she doubted if that was because he was too soft. Rather the opposite.

"He doesn't mean it that way" She said to the students as warm as she could, trying to comfort them a bit. "Welcome to Lion Turtle Bending School. I'm Miss Lea" She said with her widest smile and a subtle wink after she had sent Master Gua away with the message that the Headmaster was looking for him. Which ofcourse, she had made up to lure him away from the children. "I hope Master Shang didn't give you the wrong impression. We're not all like that here. Why don't you come sit here with me?" She continued and pointed at the nearest empty table. "Headmaster Saigei is about to begin his welcoming speach"

Teachers were lining up in front of the room and an old man with white beard politely asked for silence. The large hall went silent in an instant.

"Welcome everyone at the beginning of yet another year here at Lion Turtle Bending School." Headmaster Saigei spoke with his usual, slightly hoarse voice. "I'm happy to see that so many new and familiar faces will be joining us again this year. As for the first years: most of you arrived today, so you haven't had the chance to settle down yet. After the welcoming ceremony, Master Kuruk and Miss Finnalock will show you to the boys and girls dormitories respectively." He gestured to the duo on his left to make clear whom he was speaking about and he pauzed for a moment.

Even though he truly felt happy and proud about starting the year again with so many ambitious students, he was also worried about their safety since the attacks on the harbor this summer. He still could see the remains of the buildings there, crystal clear before his mind's eye. He cleared his throat to dismiss the memory and continued: "Also new this year is the pro-bending arena we raised in the pond in front of the school. You will be able to sign up as a team and compete in the schooltournament."

The list of anouncements went on. New teachers, old teachers, rules, where to find schedules. Nothing too important.

"And now it's time to eat." He ended his welcoming speach. Plates were brought to the table with all kinds of delicious smelling foods.
Now the students would have some time to eat, chat and mingle.

Tomorrow, classes would start.

Not much had changed in the last year at the school. The veteran students had already seated themselves and most talked idly while the first years filed into the main hall where the welcoming speech and dinner were about to go underway. Makki eyed Master Gua as he tried his best to intimidate the younger students into behaving properly. The waterbender found his grumpy attitude draining and training under him almost everyday had made his first year almost unbearable. If it was not for the friends he had made and his ever present yearning for knowledge, Makki thought he would have dropped out.

"Good thing he doesn't know who pulled that Elbow Leech stunt last year." Makki said to the few at his table. He absently twirled his finger above his class of water, turning his attention to the vortex he was creating. He almost wished he was still in the North Pole with the rest of his family. Almost. There was no doubt in his mind that he liked being in the frozen north but there was only so much he could learn there. The Lion Turtle Bending School offered everything from instruction in the bending arts to worldly subjects such as diplomacy and history. Being his second year, Makki would be specializing in a select few subjects though he was still debating on which classes he would attend.

When the headmaster stepped forward to begin,the room fell into an eerie silence. The speech was similar to the year before, welcoming, polite, engaging and short. Makki fixed his eyes on Saigei, there was a flicker of something in his eyes, worry perhaps? Making a mental note to inquire as to what was wrong, Makki leaned forward in his seat before jumping up with an excited yell for the announcement pertaining to the pro-bending arena. He quickly reseated himself, tuning out the rest of the announcements as he imagined knocking opponents off the arena. He could already see himself with a winning team at a championship.

The appearance of food snapped Makki from his imaginings and he quickly selected a variety of Northern Water Tribe dishes to put on his plate. As he ate, Makki took the chance to look at the first years. They looked ordinary enough, each sporting the clothing style of his or her element or home. They looked out of place in a sea of familiar faces and he wondered if any of them would make a pro-bending team. He expected not, they were new and did not know the styles of fighting the second years had learned and so they would be at a big disadvantage. Makki's eyes settled on a long haired brunette sitting among the first years. His first thought was how attractive she was, that is, until he saw her neck and what appeared to be a betrothal necklace. "A shame." he said under his breath. He turned his icy eyes to those at his table and smiled widely.

"Anyone planning to join a pro-bending team?" He asked, looking from face to face.

Ellfen snickered at the facial expressions that the new students continuosly gave off. To her it was amusing because she had been raised in a Sandbending Tribe, they were always looking to make the next generation stronger than the last. Luckily her bloodline was one of the longest so she had been already raised to be strong, to show no fear, and to dominate challengers whenever possible. The camp her tribe lived in was called a 'Stronghold' by the members, but outsiders almost always just referred to it as a regular 'camp' which angered her everytime she heard it. Ellfen still had a bit of a playful and mischeivous side to her, so she couldn't help but laugh when Makki mentioned the prank that was pulled off last year.

"I will nnneeeevvveeerrr forget that face he made, I swear! Hahahaha!"

Ellfen glanced around the room, almost everyone that had the same element looked similar to each other. Similar colors in clothing, similar hair styles, and a few that had similar facepaint designs. She on the other hand, looked quite different from other Earthbenders, most likely due to the fact that she was mainly a Sandbender, plus her tribe had an odd sense of style. When the room fell silent she put her hand behind her back and twirled her fingers. Small sand particles carefully floated by a new student's face and they flinched and started rubbing their right eye. Ellfen snickered again and put her hand over her mouth to keep from getting too loud.

Ellfen yawned, becomming fairly bored with the speech. That was until the headmaster announced the pro-bending arena, then she was extremely excited and couldn't help but throw her fist in the air and shout a loud "YEEAAHHH!!!!" Not caring about the odd looks the new students gave her. She brought her fist back down and kept the wide half-animalistic grin on her face. Ellfen pictured herself dominating others with her sand-techniques, showing how even the smallest grain of sand can be stronger than the largest boulder. Her attention snapped over to the food that was being presented and she happily took some dishes similar to those she ate at her Stronghold, which consisted of mainly stews that looked questionable or gross to others and some bread. Ellfen began to practically stuff her face with the food, she wasn't exactly 'miss manners' if you know what I mean. Instead of taking small bites like others, she took rather large bites and thick swallows. Most men that had met her would think she was beautiful and strong, but then once they saw how she was they'd become either weirded out, or just plain grossed out. If she were to wear anything that made her look more masculine, most would probably think she was a straight up guy. Oh well, she didn't care, she was raised that way. Ellfen looked up at Makki when he asked about joining a pro-bending team and swallowed the food that was in her mouth.

"I plan on joining one. It would make my tribe proud. Plus it would prove to others that Sand can be stronger than Stone."

She grinned and took a drink of water from her cup.

"What about you Makki? We all know you're competitive like the rest of us."

Ellfen snickered.

"I can't say the same for the newmeat this year though. Hahaha."

She said gesturing to the new students.

Jinto sat at the table, his back straight and his arms crossed with his eyes closed. He was completely still and silent, as per how he usually meditated. He usually tried to meditate or rest during these pointless social gatherings. He needed as much energy as he could get for his training. While there was training at the academy, there wasn't enough in a day to satisfy Jinto so he usually did his own training during his free time. The second years around him were all talking about some prank they had pulled the past year, while it wasn't obvious he could still see that they were making sure to give him some space despite sitting at the same table. His mind clear, he droned out the noise around him. He only had to wait another year before he could go back home. His first year had been boring and tiresome and this new year didn't look to be any different. He had made disappointing progress with his Lighteningbending, he was having issues properly gauging his own power. He wasn't allowed to see his full potential during sparring due to the fact that they weren't supposed to hurt each other. The last time he had fought seriously was in an Agni Kai with his cousin. He had lived in a secular mountain village that was its own place unaffected by the changing outside world and conformed to the warlike traditions of the old Fire Nation. He had fought his cousin over a disagreement between their parents over their respective children's skill level. The village was a competitive place that focused on creating powerful benders.

His eyes fluttered open as he heard the news of the Pro-Bender tournament. Pro-Bending had always seemed like a joke to him but it didn't seem like such a bad anymore. He was anxious to see his personal progress in battle, safety gear or not, it didn't matter as long as he didn't have to hold back. The people around him cheered at the announcement, it occurred to him that he would need a team to join. He would need to find 3 other people to be in a team with, that would prove to be difficult considering the fact he barely knew the names of his fellow 2nd Years.

He looked around the table, he didn't work well with others, but as long as they stayed out of his way he wouldn't mind being on a team. This would prove to be a good opportunity, he would join a team as soon as the opportunity presented itself, whether they liked him or not was irrelevant.

Suzume sighed as she watched some of the new students be terrorized by Master Gua. One little prank last year and now the poor new kids had to suffer. Her eyes narrowed a bit, perhaps there needed to be something more extreme this year. He couldn't just be left to torture anyone that might cause him a tiny bit of trouble. She was pulled out of her malicious thoughts when the Headmaster started speaking.

Her eyes lit up a bit when he brought up the pro-bending arena. Joining a team would be a nice chance to try and branch out for once. From what she could tell the percentage of air-benders to the other bending types was rather small, in her opinion anyway. She clapped her hands together excitedly when the food was brought out. She quickly started scooping any kind of vegetarian food that she saw onto her plate.

She quickly swallowed her food, when Makki asked if anyone was planning on joining a pro-bending team.

“I will probably join one if I can find the right group of people...” A winning team, that’s what she needed anything to prove her father wrong.

This school was not going to be a waste of her time, he could call her weak and fragile until he was blue in the face, but that didn't make him right. She gave a small sigh under her breath. How her mother had fallen for such a stubborn man, and an Earth-bender no less was beyond her. While opposites are technically supposed to attract it wasn't meant to apply to different bending elements. She rested her head on her hand, classes would hopefully be interesting. For second years there were a lot more options. The only problem was that she couldn't think of what her focus should be. While teaching seemed like a good idea, and something she would enjoy, she needed something impressive. Molding young minds could be rewarding, it just wasn't something you could rub in another persons face. Martial Arts was definitely going to be one of her classes, Diplomacy or Chi could be interested to study. Then again she had always been interested in spirits.

“Why are there so many choices!” she threw her hands up in the air causing a couple of plates in the surrounding area to spin a bit.

Her face turned red, sudden outbursts wasn't something she wanted to be known for. She slumped over putting her face in her hands, some of the first years were muttering a bit. Talk about a bleak start to a new year.

Makki was glad to see some at his table were just as excited as he was for the pro-bending. Though he tried not to let it show, he was bouncing inside, itching to start the first day of practice though he still needed a team. He eyed the others at his table, of those closest, there was a perfect team, element wise anyway though when he looked at Jinto, he reconsidered. Makki was not sure if he wanted someone so serious on the team. Turning back to his meal, he chewed slowly as he considered everyone he would like to be on a team with. There were some nice firebenders around, and some airbenders that he enjoyed the company of. He even thought about what an all waterbender team would be like.

"We'd lose against any one with an earthbender..." He murmured to himself.

The team would need at least an earthbender and Ellfen seemed more than eager to get into the ring and her being an earthbender, or rather sandbender and her winning attitude would make a good addition to any team.

"You don't really think you will be allowed to sandbend in the arena, do you?" Makki asked with a raise eyebrow, "If I can't use ice, then I doubt sand will be allowed, or lightning for that matter."

"Of course I'll be joining! Who wouldn't want to?" he said loudly, "And if you're looking for a team..."

Makki gave an exaggerated gesture to indicate himself. He reached forward and took a leg that looked something akin to a grasshopper but much, much larger. He was surprised to find that the shell was soft and easy to peel away from the meat and he dug in.

"The tadpoles to look a little skittish, don't they." He said, following Ellfen's gaze.

Makki stared at Suzune when she sent food flying via spinning plate. He made a note to keep a hand on the edge of his plate from then on. He could not believe she was complaining about having too many choices, it was the point of a school and it was exciting to be able to specialize.

"Would you rather be forced into classes you don't like." He inquired, "Like last year? I couldn't stand Politics!"

Politics and Diplomacy had been his least favorite class. Makki found it boring and a waste of time for him, especially since he hadn't understood half of what Miss Lea had said though it had been nice to have a waterbender as the teacher. She had been more than happy to offer extra help with his forms when Gua was too cranky.

"Do you think Headmaster Saigei will coach a team?" Makki asked, glancing at the elderly man. The water tribe boy had developed a deep respect for the man during his tuesday pai sho lessons, and even more so when he proved himself an excellent and very capable fighter.

Ellfen looked at Makki with a half-annoyed facial expression on her face.

"Sandbending is consitered a smaller part of Earthbending, not an ADVANCED part of Earthbending. Advanced is Metalbending, although I see Sandbending as something more than what people think, it is still consitered a smaller portion. So, therefore, its allowed. To be honest you'd probably be able to use fog or mist in the arena, since it too is a smaller portion of your element."

She said calmly but still firm. It was natural for her to sound either stern, firm, or intimidating when she talked about her element when someone questioned it. It wasn't insulting to her, but it still annoyed her when people didn't know all the details and just assumed. Ellfen laughed at his reaction to her question about him joining a team. Of course he'd join one, it was always obvious. She qwirked an eyebrow when he overly exaggerated for her to join him.

"In my tribe you have to prove your strength, sooo.."

Ellfen grinned.

"How about you go up agaiinnsstt..."

She looked around for a moment and her gaze happened to fall on Jinto. She then looked back at Makki.

"Jinto. And if you prove your strength, I'll join you, but if you don't, I think you get the idea."

Ellfen said while grinning mischeivously. Oh this was gonna be good if he accepted. Opposite elements against one another ALWAYS made a good match. She quickly held on to her dish that she had when Suzune suddenly made plates spin. Sheesh she needed to learn how to control her stuff sometimes.

"I agree with Makki, assigned classes are horrible. As if I wanna listen to Politics and Diplomacy! I couldn't care less about those things! I am TRIBAL, not politicial! Which is why I never gave much effort in those classes. Now I get to choose what I want, and since I'll like it then I wont be as much of a trouble maker... maybe."

Ellfen snickered again and turned her attention back to Makki and shrugged.

"Dunno."

She then started to twirl one of her fingers out of boredom and sand particles gathered and formed a mini sand-tornado above her fingertip.

The lush greenery of the environment surrounding the school proved to be a welcoming sight to Sayomi. The nature of the Southern Water Tribe's location was one harsh and stark to those looking in, but to their inhabitants, it was home. It was all that they knew, excluding those that went off to fight in the worldly conflicts. Life there was simple: children playing in the snow and ice, sons being taught how to fish by their fathers, weekly gatherings as a whole tribe filled with dance and feasts. This was Sayomi grew to know and that is why the Lion Turtle Bending School appealed to her.

The subtly sweet scent wafting from the exotic flowers, the vibrant greens that decorated the landscape with an artist's touch, the cool breeze that blew ever so often that caressed her face. All things new that she could have only dreamed about seeing. I'm so glad that Alana sent me here. she thought to herself as she walked through the corridors of the school.

She had endured long speeches, instructions, directions, and tours since she arrived and it wore her out mentally. When it came time to eat, she sought a table with little to no people and sat there, allowing her to recollect herself with her thoughts instead of focusing on eating. Lucky for her, Alana packed her a roasted fish that she could eat later.

Miss Lana brought the mongoose dragons inside for the night. Her Iguana Parrot landed on her shoulder. "Hey there Iggy" She said to her friend as she caressed its head. "we're almost done, then we'll eat, you impatient creature." It was getting dark and it looked as if it would start raining soon as well. She made sure the turtle ducks were in the shelter she had built for them. The little turtle ducklings that had hatched a few months ago, were -despite the fact that they had grown a lot already- still horribly cute. Finally she carefully brought in the sabertooth moose-lion. Now Bob -the moose-lion- was mostly easygoing, but he reacted very badly to the Armadillo Lion that her very own brother had thought of as a good idea to bring to a school environment. Luckily the armadillo lion was asleep in his cage, and bob followed her without any struggles. The first drops of rain fell on her skin as she walked towards the school building. In the distance, she could vaguely hear thunder. Before she went in, she took a deep breath to smell the scent of the coming summerstorm. She exhaled with a sigh and opened the door.

Inside she found that dinner was coming to an end. As she walked over to the teachers table, she overheard some conversations from students. Many of them were about what people had been doing in the summer. Some talked about what they hoped to be doing this year and some welcomed the first years. Or made fun of them. Many conversations however, were also about pro-bending. She could even hear some students talking about a name for their team already. A few tables further the sandbender girl was trying to stir things up. Lana rolled her eyes. Always the same with this girl. She was a good kid though. Tough as well. Lana was just not in the mood to have to fetch Healer Kormak later.

When she was about to sit down to eat something, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Jingo. "Let's bring the kids to bed." He said with his deep and monotone voice.
"Damn" she muttered under her breath. She was getting very hungry now. Jingo silently looked at her.
"Fine. I mean: yes, let's show them the dormitories."
She gave Iggy a piece of fish and she took a chunk of bread for herself to chew on. With the chunk of bread still in her hand, she stood in front of the hall, next to Jingo. The large firebender just stood there in front of the hall, waiting for a few seconds. His presence commanded respect in a totally different way than headmaster Saigei's did. When the students closest to him realised that he wanted to say something, they went silent. Their example was followed by the students around them. Then, before it was silent, but when the volume had dropped enough, Jingo spoke: "First years. Gather here and take your belongings with you. Miss Lana and I will show you to the dormitories."

Leanara had already brought a group of first years to the front. The other first years were quickly taking their bags and whatnot and also joined the group. From the way that Leanara looked at her, she could tell what she was thinking. Namely: 'Why can't the man be a bit more welcoming to the kids? Now he sounds like a sergeant.' Or something along those lines. Lana thought that the Politics and Diplomcy teacher had never had quite understood Jingo. But then again, Lana was one of the few people who knew his warmer side.

The cascading silence broke Sayomi from her trance and commanded her attention. She surveyed the dining hall to notice two teachers standing near the entrance. Dammit, I should have eaten. Slowly, she stood from her seat and weaved through the tables to stand in the front with a group of other First Years, mainly eager to see with whom they would be rooming with. This didn't matter to her for she was sure she would get along with whomever she was paired with. It would also give her a chance to interact with other benders if she was lucky, especially since she hadn't spoken to many people since she had arrived.

"Um, sir? Will you tell us our roommates before we get to the dorms?" Her olive cheeks flushed a warm red for she realized she had spoken out of turn. Quickly, she averted her gaze from Jingo's eyes with shame, her long, black hair falling into her face as she looked toward the ground.

Jinto watched as Ellfen's attention landed on him.

"Jinto. And if you prove your strength, I'll join you, but if you don't, I think you get the idea."

An interesting prospect, Makki seemed to be skilled but he wasted his potential as a water bender with his pranks and his follies. If it was a no holds barred fight, it would be more interesting, but a fight of this level would have to make do. Plus he still needed a team, It seemed as if he wanted to join a team, he would have to make his interests apparent. Jinto unfolded his arms and stopped the spinning plate between his fingers. With his usual bored grimace on his face he spoke, "I accept, If I want to be on a team I'll need practice...". It was dependent on Makki, if he didn't fight, Jinto would be lost on a chance to improve himself.

He looked over at the first years and noticed they were leaving the dining room. "If you really want to fight, just tell me when and where" Jinto said, "but if you aren't serious, I will not fight you", there was a slight on one's honor should they fight an enemy who does not have the heart to fight at 100% , a quality Jinto found in many of the other students in the school and was disappointed by.

Makki stared at Ellfen with a mix of disbelief and excitement as she explained her view on sandbending. She certainly had a point and he had not thought about bending in such a light before.

"I'd never thought about it like that before..." He admitted, "But just try not to get sand in people's eyes."

At the mention of needing to prove his strength, Makki stood up, preparing himself to fight Ellfen right then and there but fortunately for the main hall, she had had something else in mind. She had went on to indicate Jinto, the firebender that sat a little ways away at the same table. He felt himself deflate inside and the excitement he had built up was suddenly gone. He was not afraid to fight the quiet man, but he had always seen Jinto as a fun stopper.

"If that's what it takes, then I'll fight him." Makki declared, an instant after Jinto himself agreed.

Getting up from his seat, Makki rolled his shoulders and grinned. It would be a good fight and there was no better opponent as Jinto was by far the most skilled firebending student in the school. He would not have doubted if Jinto had developed his skills enough to bend lightning. His thoughts were brought back to the discussion from earlier about advanced forms of bending. Bending metal and lightning were useful skills, but waterbending's ultimate technique was purely evil. Bloodbending. Makki hoped never to learn it and that no one else discovered the secret to the art. A world without that power was a better world altogether.

"I'm serious, Jinto." Makki said, pulling his mind back to reality, "Let's say, tomorrow, after class. We can use the arena. Standard Pro-bending rules apply though."

Seeing that others were beginning to leave the hall, Makki thought it a good time to retire to his room. He had arrived a few days prior and had been assigned to a new room further down the hall with the men's dorms.

"I think I'll head to my room." Makki said and gave the group a heart filled wave. He followed the flow of firstyears, nodding to the teachers as he passed them.

Suzume sighed, and poked at her food with a fork. Having a choice of what classes to take was great. The process of trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life was going to be the tough part.

She switched her gaze between Jinto and Makki. It would be interesting to see a fight between the two. Jinto was a bit more brutal of a fighter, but that just came with his upbringing. Makki, however was also a skilled fighter, but she could already see his mouth getting in the way. It would be interesting to watch the fight though. She turned and looked at the First Years being led off to the dorm rooms. She chuckled a bit at the first year who was a little bit to eager about room assignments.

She stifled ad yawn and got up as well. She forced her way through the crowd until she caught up to Makki. “Makki, are you sure you want to fight Jinto so early in the school year. While I’m not saying that you’re going to lose, I mean you both have a fighting chance.” she stopped talking for a few seconds to catch her breath. “I’m not going to go on I don't want to get into your head that would probably be bad.”

She looked around, she wasn't exactly sure what to say next. The crowd was pretty thick so going against it would probably be pretty difficult... “What classes are you going to take?”

Ellfen grinned as she saw that both Jinto and Makki were willing to fight. She loved fights. Her grin faltered a slight bit when Makki mentioned that Pro-bending rules applied. She mentally growled in annoyance. Rules here always got on her nerves. Sure her stronghold had rules, but SO many that it made you have to think over your strategy just to keep teachers from going mad or keep yourself from using your strongest technique.

'That'll have to change...'

She said to herself mentally. As Makki left her expression changed from the excited grin to a zoned-out in thought expression.

'But of course I can't do anything about it as long as teachers are aware... I suppose THIS fight can have the standard rules, but future fights wont have those. No, we'll fight like the Tribe does.'

Ellfen absentmindedly made the small sand tornado above her finger begin forming a small structure.

'We'll need a place that is secret. No one can possibly know of it other than those who participate in the fights. But where?'

She glanced over at the structure she had been forming and noticed that it made something that looked similar to a tunnel with an opening at the end. Ellfen's zoned-out expression suddenly changed to a wicked micheivous grin.

'Underground of course..!'

She turned her head and looked over at Jinto.

"Okay. You and I know that we BOTH don't like the rules here. So, how would you like to help me form a secret arena where people like us can fight however we want?"

She said grinning.

"I can use my Sand... and you can use your Lightning."

Ellfen smashed the structure that she was forming and the sand came through between her fingers and began floating around her hand.

"We could practice all we want. With whatever we want."

The sand particles came together and formed a small snake that wrapped around her wrist.

Makki allowed himself to be pushed along with the crowd and half listened to the questions being fired off by first years as they speculated what the year would be like. They were already huddling together, usually those with the same element and Makki assumed it was because they might have known each other. During his first year, he had stayed by Northern Water Tribe students for the first week or so until he had had a chance to get to know others in his classes.

Makki looked down at Suzume as she caught up with him. She was one of those people he had gotten to know though he could remember many a time when he had annoyed her with an outburst in class. "To be honest, I'd rather not fight him at all." He said with a shrug of his shoulders, "He's...too focused. I have no doubt he's better than me in a fight, but at least using pro-bending rules will even the odds." He looked forward and into the backs of various heads as they moved as one down the corridor. "Don't worry about it. I'm confident I can put up a fight. Maybe I'll even win. I expect you to be there, Suzume." He gave a friendly wink before putting a hand on her shoulder and steering her through the crowd to the back where the noise was significantly less.

"I'll be taking the Animals course for sure and Martial Arts. Apart from those, I was thinking Chi and Chakras, and Spirits." He explained, counting down the classes on his fingers, "It seems proper to take spirits considering I live a stone's throw away from a Spirit Portal." The great Avatar Korra had left the spirit portals open to encourage spirits and humans living together peacefully. It had been hard, but slowly it was working just as she had hoped. The spirits had become a valued part of water tribe society and Makki was not sure he would want to live in a world without them.

"What about you, what classes do you want to join?" Makki watched the first years split into two groups, one heading towards the girl's dormitory, and the boys to theirs. He stopped where they had separated and turned to face his airbending friend.

Suzume listened intently as he talked about the upcoming fight with Jinto. If the only thing leveling the odds was the Pro-bending rules, then what was going to happen if there was ever a way to fight outside of the Pro-Bending Arena. "Of course I'll be there, someone has to be there to make sure you don't tear Jinto apart!"

She let Makki guide her through the crowd, leave it to a water bender to know how to navigate any kind of river. She had to refrain herself from telling the joke, it seemed like it would come across wrong, Makki probably would have taken it well, but who knows. She smiled a bit when she learned that he would be taking Martial Arts, along with Chi and Chakras. It was interesting that he lived so close to one of the Spirit Portals she would have to ask him more about that later. The Spirits were a touchy subject in her house, as her 'father' didn't seem to want anything to do with them, and he would prefer if his family didn't have anything to do with them either.

“I'm still not positive on what classes I want to take. I know that Martial arts, Chi & Chakras have made the cut on my list, it’s the other two classes that I can’t think of.” She sighed “I just need to get the most I can out of this school, otherwise it really will be a waste.” She turned red and started waving her hands in front of her face. “Forget what I just said, it has nothing to do with anything ever!” She stopped freaking out, and shrugged. “Diplomacy and Spirits might be a good combination with some of the stuff I already have picked out. I guess it should be a hard decision, but in a way I have a lot riding on this school.” She yawned and stretched her arms. “I guess I’ll be heading off to my room. Hopefully the next-door neighbors aren't being too loud.” She grinned at Makki. “See you at breakfast tomorrow!”

Jinto pondered her proposition, It would definitely assist to have a better training place, but should he be caught, the house of Yakou would be dishonored. He had been taught to put honor first, should he go through with her plan, he would only use the facility for training. Fighting in secret was without glory and honor, as well as against the oppressive, but reasonable rules of the school. While he didn't disagree with school rules, he was a guest at the facility and he had been taught the manners of a polite guest. He would follow the rules, to an extent.

"I will be open to this secret facility, but any fight in secret isn't a fight that interests me." Jinto said as he stood up from his seat. The gathering was over and he would have to get rest before his day of classes tomorrow. He had chosen his classes according to what he believed would assist him the best in the future, Martial Arts, Chi and Chakras, Spirits, and Literature.

"We can discuss this after the match tomorrow," Jinto said as he turned to leave. As he started to walk he stopped himself and turned back to Ellfen. "I'll be willing to join a team as well." He said before exiting the room. Ellfen was a skilled earthbender as well as a sandbender, having her on a team would serve to be profitable. He spotted Makki and the girl Suzume chatting at the split between the paths that went to the different dorms. He walked past them down the path to the boy's dormitory without giving them another glance.

Master Kuruk averted his gaze to the young waterbender. "Miss Finnalock will show you and the other girls your dormitories. I'll be going with the boys. Come on boys. This way." He gestured the boys in which direction to go and made sure they all would follow him.
Miss Finnalock gathered the girls. "That's right girls, you can follow me." As she walked with the group to the dormitories, she made sure to walk next to Sayomi for a while. "Don't worry" She said. "the dormitories are quite large, so you'll be sleeping in the same room with quite a few other girls. But I'm sure you will get along just fine."
As they entered the empty room, Miss Finnalock began explaining the few rules they had -like silence after 22:00, and then she read the list with the names of the girls and their assigned rooms.
When the girls had installed themselves somewhat, she wished them goodnight and went to her own room. She was dead tired.

...........

day 1:

Faisha Maan was up early on the first day of school this year. As she stepped outside her little temple to the north of the school, she enjoyed the dew on the grass that stroked her naked ankles. It was a little foggy as a result from the storm last night. But it was probably going to clear up soon. "Good morning Mokka.". She said to her airbison. Her compagnion had gotten his name due to his strange but harmless complexion, that caused his fur colours to be reversed compared to other airbisons. So instead of the regular white with brown arrows, Mokka was a warm dark brown with beige arrows on his fur.
After breakfast, Faisha awaited the second year students together with Mokka, right in front of the temple.

Rosanna Hearthache had a less peaceful morning. After Leonardo, the penguin otter from that senile history teacher, had 'mistakenly' eaten her breakfast, she found herself now hurrying to the classroom. There was just no arguing with a man who had such childish reasonings. Sometimes she thought he was just fooling everybody with his -happy go lucky atittude. If she couldn't do it, how could an old man do it. Unless he was slowly losing his mind ofcourse.
Next to that, she wasn't looking forward to a class that might have completely illiterate students in them again. Not that she knew of anybody who couldn't read yet in the next class. But she had had student last year and it had been a pain for someone like her.
There were so many beautiful things in the world of literature, and she didn't want to waste her time on people that would just never get it anyway. At least she was on time, she thought as she entered the classroom. There were no students there yet. She closed her eyes for a moment, touched her forehead with a few fingers and took a few deep breaths. Lessons were going to start again.