[b]"C'mon, Kennen, I thought you could do better than that,"[/b] Ave sighed, a small gust of wind blowing the dirt off her stubby, dirtied nails. How did other girls keep their hands so clean? What could you do with those dainty, useless hands? Cover your perfectly-shaped lips while you giggle, smitten, at some chauvinistic White Lotus guard? Ave rolled her golden irises at the thought as she walked away from the boy she'd single-handedly pinned in two minutes flat. There had to be some competition out there worthy of her skills, wasn't there?

Not that Hava's elders would actually let Ave do anything productive with her life. Though she'd convinced her family and most of her neighbors that Ave was just as capable as any of the Neanderthals that they called men here in Hava, the elders would never let her venture outside of the monotonous walls of her homeland. What else was going on outside these rocky borders? Curiosity killed the cat, but the saying doesn't say anything about curiosity killing a fully capable air bender like herself. 

If she cared enough to listen, Ave might've noticed Kennen's pouting for a rematch, but she wouldn't bother herself with his idiocy. She hardly even had to use any air bending to get him on his knees. One flick of her sparring mace-- a wooden replica of her normal one-- sent him diving for a mouthful of dirt. From there, it was merely a matter of keeping the twerp on the ground. Kennen's father used to be friends with Ave's, before he passed, but he definitely wasn't Ave's strongest competition. There wasn't much of anything left for Ave to bother herself with. The people of Hava weren't the best sample group, but as far as Ave's limited mind set was concerned, she was the most powerful air bender out there. Of course, she couldn't be further away from wrong.

The blonde kicked her foot at the dirt as she strayed away from the central hubbub of Hava, longingly wishing she was an earth bender. Now those guys, they weren't to be trifled with. Who wanted to threaten someone that could suck away the earth beneath your feet? She'd never seen a real earth bender in action, but it was the only unit in her mediocre schooling that she'd actually paid a bit of attention to. The only information she'd retained were the fantasies of earth swirling around Ave, rocks spiraling towards the sky as she carved a stone pathway to society. Little did she know that most earth benders weren't exactly capable of this, but her imagination ran wild with the little information she was bestowed with in school. 

Ave plopped down on the ground, dust collecting on her plain tunic. She pulled her trademarked goggles off her head as she stared off into the sky, her mind drifting off to her picturesque future. She'd be a respected... Uh, fuck. What was she going to do? She'd be a pilot, yeah! Immersed in the air, surrounded by nothing but her element and the clouds, that was the life. She cleaned off her goggles with her beige top, smiling to herself. What a stupid dream. 

Kennen's thin frame jogged into Ave's peripheral vision. [b]"Ave, the elders want you back at in the main area,"[/b] Kennen was out of breath, not for the first time. He was nearly always out of breath after he insisted on sparring Ave again... and losing.

[b]"Oh God, don't tell me they found out about the soap in their tobacco pipes. Look, they don't have any evidence to peg me on it, and if you weasel me out, they're not going to be the only ones coughing up--"[/b] Ave began, but Kennen shook his head quickly. [b]"No, no, it's nothing like that! There's a messenger hawk that just dropped off a letter. It's customary for everyone to be present at its opening."[/b] Lord, it was like Kennen was reciting Hava laws to her. Unlike Ave, even if Kennen couldn't fight, he was an intellectual genius.

A majestic shadow swooped down towards the horizon just as Ave entered the camp. People whispered in anticipation, wondering who the message was for. There were some rumors about His Royalty recruiting more guards for the White Lotus, or something like that. Ave didn't really bother herself with politics.

A wrinkled hand unraveled the thick parchment. Even the wrapping reeked of riches; leather ties dangled just for aesthetic pleasure from an ornately crafted wooden scroll. What an honor, Ave thought to herself, unable to hold back her sneer. So that's where His royal budget was going to. Decoration. Who needed to feed the starving when you could have fancy-looking scrolls?

In her miffed inner tantrum, Ave realized she hadn't even been listening to the letter reading. Not like she cared. It was probably another lame excuse about why they couldn't ship extra rations to Hava. Typical. She was going to go back to her serene spot by the cliffs when she realized all eyes were on her. Did she miss something? Was this some kind of public accusation of Ave's juvenile pranks? Apparently not. 

[b]"What do you mean, they want [I]her[/I]?"[/b] One of the elders, Aeilus, spat venom at the one who'd read the letter, Caro. [b]"She's nothing but a box of rocks!"[/b] Were they talking about her? What was this? I'm smarter than a box of rocks, Ave pouted inside her head. I could kick a box of rocks' ass if I wanted to.

[b]"Huh? What's going on?..."[/b] Ave blinked, confounded. The elders were in a heated debate, but Caro managed to shove the letter into Ave's hands. It took her a while to decipher the calligraphy carefully written on the parchment. Ave wasn't exactly the best student in school. Her reading skills weren't the sharpest, but she got through the letter. [b]"What's this about a dragon, or something?"[/b] Okay, so maybe she hadn't really understood the letter. 

[b]"Ave, it's the Jasmine Dragon... They're recruiting you,"[/b] Kennen said quietly, looking up at Ave through thick lashes. A Jasmine Dragon? Or was it [I]The[/I] Jasmine Dragon? The whispers begun as the elders screamed at each other, obviously having a conniption about Ave's nomination for whatever this jasmine cult was. Anything that bothered them that much should be beneficial for Ave, shouldn't it?

A smirk crawled onto her chapped lips, her golden eyes glowing with mischief. [b]"When do I leave?"[/b]