A/N: now before you lot start badgering me about if this is a sequel to The In-Betweens of Fire and Ice, NO it ISN'T. so do enjoy, and i hope you like this one as much as my first ATLA story. again, enjoy!
disclaimer: Mike and Bryan own the ATLA universe; Mariko belongs to me (: enjoy!
Kaigan Dōri
"You sure you're going to be all right?"
The girl turned back to hear the concern in his voice, meeting the older man's hazel stare.
He'd taken her in only a few weeks ago, out of the pouring rain like if she were a puppy-cub or something dismally weak like that, catching sight of the girl shortly after a poorly-done pilfering plot, offering shelter to 'a girl that shouldn't be out in the wilderness on her own', so he said.
If it was one thing she learned in her solitude, kindness to strangers was rare and stretched few and far in-between.
Amber eyes softening a smidge, she nodded and shrugged the long cylindrical parcel onto the back of her right shoulder out of habit. "Yeah, I'll be fine." She smiled gratefully and bowed briefly out of respect, straightening to trod off down the path without another word.
It was an hour or so later that she finally succumbed to the relative-quietness of the forest around her, the trees that lined either side of the dirt road standing proud and tall, allowing the clear blue sky of the afternoon to act as an umbrella to the loner whose black boots crunched softly on the dirt path she walked.
For the esteemed-rough age of sixteen, she didn't profess to act like any other girl her age would. Solitude taught her to be patient, quick-thinking, and above all else, wary.
She was skinny, not scrawny or frail like a bird, though she liked to consider herself nimble; not lanky or willowy, either, moreso average than anything; her complexion was pale despite the fact that she had traveled in the sun for months; though her shoulder-length mane of wild black hair was usually down, she often put it into a high ponytail or a loose braid if she felt the urge.
Today it was in a loose braid draped onto her left shoulder.
She didn't dress feminine, instead more like a boy, deeming that pants were much more comfortable to wear than skirts, and a tunic with a simple undershirt whose sleeves were cut off at the elbow made movement easier than if she wore a blouse; ever since she'd started traveling south, she took to wearing grays and jade greens, save for her black boots that were comfortable and had managed to carry her so far.
A soft growl sounded from her stomach, making the girl briefly pause; she made a face, mentally kicking herself for not taking the man up on his offer for breakfast.
Sighing, she kept going along the path, hoping to soon find a market. She didn't have much money, but she only hoped she could at least get something into her grumbling belly.
::::::::dOb::::::::
Luck was with her today.
Ignoring the slightly leering look the vendor gave, she tossed a couple of silver pieces onto the tabletop for the bag of four apples she'd picked out, turning to leave before the comments would fly; once she had turned a corner, she snagged one apple out of the bag and bit into it, her shoulders practically slumping in relief at finally eating something.
A loud crash sounded nearby, making her jump; she hurried towards the source of the noise, skidding to a halt just short of the opening of another alley, seeing a blur of what appeared to be blue and yellow race past her.
Don't get involved, don't interfere: it's not your business, it's nothing of your concern…
Curiosity was a potent thing sometimes.
"Who wants to get a taste of my blades first?" The slim-faced pirate drawled, brandishing his daggers.
A sharp boot connected with the man's mid-back hard, sending him sprawling face-first into the dead-end's floor.
"I always thought pirates knew better catch-phrases." She dusted her pants off, scowling down at the knocked-over man.
"Why you little…!"
"Get her!"
The girl ducked the swipes the two other men still present attempted to snag her with, a stoic look on her face, hands clasped at her back slipping one of her own daggers free of the sheath melded into the back of her belt; her amber eyes tightened minutely.
"Duck!" The boy in yellow from the dead-end of the alley exclaimed, swinging the staff in his hands forward in a sharp arch; a gust of wind slapped the two pirates in the front and sent them flying back, the girl caught between them having ducked low in time.
"Oi how did you…?" She didn't get to ask as soon the trio were taking off from the ground on what appeared to be a glider, the wings orange, with the boy in yellow controlling the direction, the girl and other boy in blue clinging to him for dear life; knowing the pirates were going to regain themselves soon, she did the only sensible thing she could think of and grabbed hold of the second boy's left leg.
She shut her eyes closed tightly as they gained altitude, soon not feeling the ground beneath her feet, and this made her eyes stay closed shut, vainly hoping they'd land somewhere.
Far from the pirates.
The strangest sight greeted her once they'd landed.
A beast that appeared to be an air-bison with beige fur and brown arrow markings loomed tall, strangely intimidating and fluffy at the same time.
This was so weird.
"Hey, hello? You didn't answer our questions!" A voice nearby jerked her out of her amazement, probably the second boy she'd escaped with; he sounded older than the one in yellow, probably a year younger than her.
Turning to face the trio, she was met with the tanned face of the older boy, his blue eyes narrowed suspiciously at her; he looked to be a few inches taller than her, a short ponytail of brown hair tied at the back of his head, donning a blue longsleeve tunic over navy leggings and brown boots, her eyes returning sharply to meet his glare.
She raised one thin black brow, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're very snippy, aren't you?" She finally replied, her calm and usually level voice carrying a bored tone in her snarky reply.
The boy's glare furrowed in annoyance; "Knock it off, Sokka." The voice of the girl declared with a slightly-exasperated tone from behind, earning a brief scowl from the older boy.
The girl looked to be at least thirteen, her skin tone and brown hair drawn into a long braid at her back leaving little-to-no-room for her to guess they were siblings, her large blue eyes narrowed slightly in a scowl that was meant for the one named Sokka, as she sidestepped him to approach the girl he'd been interrogating for the past few minutes; her garb was much like her brother's, another sign they either hailed from the Southern or Northern Water Tribe. "I'm sorry about my brother; he's kind of an idiot around new people we meet." The girl put on a friendly smile that earned her other brow to lift in mild curiosity. "Thanks for your help back there; those pirates didn't really know what they had coming." She half-joked.
She shrugged, easing her posture at seeing there was one friendly face, expression shifting to neutral. "Don't mention it; you guys were cornered, figuratively. What were you lot doing in that place, anyway; from the way the pirates were chasing you, it didn't look like they wanted you over for lunch." She wondered, lifting a brow again.
"That's a great question, actually! Oh yeah, I'm Aang, and this's Katara; you've already met Sokka." The boy in yellow, one she noticed had blue arrow tattoos on his head and hands, a bright grin and gentle gray eyes, introduced, the bright grin in place; a light chittering sounded before the sight of a winged-lemur with black and white fur and big green eyes poked up from behind his head, its large ears twitching as it examined the girl. "And that's Momo and Appa!" He added jovially.
She smiled a little, "Nice to meet you; the name's Mariko." She blinked when the lemur hopped up into the air to dart down onto her, perching on her right shoulder, a furry paw rooting around in the inner folds of her sleeveless hunter-green tunic for something he'd scented; his paw whipped back out to present one of the apples she'd bought before he began eating it happily.
"Momo, don't be rude like that!" The girl named Katara chided, slightly embarrassed about their group's pet's behavior.
The older girl chuckled, waving it off, "It's okay, I don't mind! He's a cute little guy, anyway," she said, reaching to pet the lemur's head gently with two fingers as he ate.
"Oh, great, another animal lover. Look, thanks for saving our skins earlier, but if you don't mind, we've got somewhere to be." Sokka groused, turning his back on the trio.
Mariko raised a brow again before shrugging, watching the lemur hop off her shoulder to go back to their campsite, "The sentiment's mutual, then. I don't wanna intrude anymore, if you lot feel so strongly." She mused, starting to walk away.
"You don't have to leave," Aang popped up infront of her as she was leaving, seeing surprise register on her pretty face; he smiled lightly, "You look like you can hold your own pretty well; why not stay with us?" He asked, perking her ears.
She blinked once, hesitating for a second; it'd been so long since she'd had friends, and even then she wasn't much of a social butterfly. Always reserved when around strangers, for as long as she could remember… "Okay."
She was fine being alone, it suited her; she never had to please anyone… So would a new batch of friends be that bad to accept?
::::::::dOb::::::::
When she came back from early-morning meditation, the campsite was vacant.
Well crap.
She perked up to see there were signs of someone being dragged in the ground; a struggle… Her eyes narrowed. She took off running in the direction the tracks led, slowing her pace to a trot until she came to the first layer of trees that met the shore of the river on the opposite side, pressing her back against one particularly bulky tree that hid her from the scene on the shore.
Poking her head out, she widened her eyes a little at seeing the gathered pirate crew plus some soldiers clad in Fire Nation red congregated around the members of her company, apparently in the middle of a bartering deal; the head of the Fire Nation pack was what threw her off guard completely, and were she not accustomed to being quiet and keeping her presence unawares, she would've been spotted in a heartbeat.
She knew those gold eyes that were narrowed in a scowl, the high ponytail at the back of his head, and the flame-shaped scar that marred the left side of his face; she'd been there that day, after all, the day he'd been marked… It was a day she had ranked as one of the worst days in her short life.
But no, her loyalty shouldn't waver; not today, not when she had more pressing matters to focus on aside from the boy she'd sought after for the past three years.
Mariko slid her eyes closed, tuning in more clearly to the conversation going on, letting the rekindled embers of relief steered towards now seeing the prince die down to be taken over by the fire that had sparked in the pit of her stomach, igniting and swelling, coming to life as it had long ago when she was younger.
"Give me the boy." The prince bit out.
"You give us the scroll." The pirate captain growled back.
Sokka, thinking on his feet, piped up, "You're really going to trade the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment!?" He asked incredulously.
The prince seemed to glare venomously in his direction, "Don't listen to him, he's trying to turn us against each other!"
No, really?
"Your friend is the Avatar?" The captain asked in surprise, seeming to look at the boy in question.
"Sure is, and I'll bet he'd fetch a better price on the market than that fancy scroll!" Sokka sang lightly.
The prince ground out, frustrated, "Shut your mouth, you Water Tribe peasant!"
The airbender muttered a warning, but the older boy was on a roll, "I'm just saying! Imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar… You guys would be set for life."
The pirates seemed to rethink their original plan, "Keep the scroll." The captain said, "We can buy a hundred when we get the reward for the kid." Shuffling of feet, the men walking away.
"You'll regret breaking a deal with me." The prince thundered.
And like that, chaos reigned on the shore; blasts of fire were thrown, a rushing of feet, shouts and yells ensuing, dust flying alongside the smoke coming from smokescreens.
A sharp 'zing' sounded nearby, and she poked her head out to see the captain and prince locked with each other, venomous glares set on their brows; she clicked her tongue.
It was as if she wasn't in control, her body moving of its own will; she broke from the trees, body twisting, left hand and foot extended as she sent a barreling blast of orange flames screaming at the captain, sending him flying.
The prince had watched his opponent be knocked clean off his feet by an unknown blast of fire; gold eyes flying to the source, they widened in shock at seeing the one responsible.
A girl at average height with pale skin and amber eyes stood there to the side, green and gray coloring her garb, her wild black hair drawn halfway up with a little bit of fringe shielding her hairline, parted to the right.
Gold and amber met, sparking ghosts of memories as their gazes held: a childhood spent together, not knowing they had been promised to each other at the age of seven, of sparring matches and sarcastic barbs traded and laughter; all that changed the day he had faced his own father in an Agni-Kai at the age of thirteen, the day he'd been branded…
"Mariko."
Her stoic look faltered at hearing him speak her name, as only he could say it in a way that reminded her of a different prince, a bright-eyed boy zealous for his father's love and goals; she wanted to smile, to throw her arms around him even, but now wasn't the time.
She dipped her head down in a curt nod, turning to lope away from him towards the battle.
The look in her eyes he'd seen was a mixture of things, but the one thing that stood out was the silent message that said, 'You're welcome, Zuko.'
::::::::dOb::::::::
Her blue eyes lit up, "The scroll!"
"Ah-ah, first, what did you learn?" Her brother put up a hand to stop her, an aloof look on his face.
She nicked the parchment from his hand, making him blink and utter an annoyed noise; she opened it up, looking at the various poses. "All that for a scroll? Geez," she grumbled, rolling it back up and tossing it to the younger girl.
"I was trying to teach a life-lesson to my kid sister!" Sokka exclaimed in irritation at having his 'master plan' foiled.
Mariko eyed him briefly, rolling them with a sigh. "'Stealing is wrong', yeah, yeah, we know. Don't have to be so smug about one simple lesson, Sokka." She said.
"Why did we ever drag you with us…?" He groused between gritted teeth, giving her a death glare.
His sister chuckled, a cheeky expression on her face, "I'm glad to see you two getting along."
The older girl smirked wryly, looking at him innocently as said boy grumbled under his breath, defeated for the day.
A/N: so did you guys like it? hate it? i would so appreciate some feedback~. i will not update until i get feedback! that's the rule. lol
*Kaigan Dōri - Asian Kung-Fu Generation