Our Mutual Lies

A Sequel to Dreams of Earth and Fire

Prologue

The rough waters of the sea rocked the cruise ship senselessly. Despite the sudden downpour of rain – each droplet a watery bullet – several people were outside on the deck, heaving their unsettled lunch into the crashing waves below. Inside where the single open space was packed with rows of benches, other passengers were slumped over their seats, trying to sleep through their turbulent journey. Only one passenger, a dark-haired, pale-skinned teenage boy with amber eyes, seemed wide awake. Through the rain-soaked windows, he watched his younger brother who was out on the deck, his head ducked over the railing.

There were approximately two days left until the ship reached the docks of Republic City Harbor located in Yue Bay. The teenager was keeping track of the days in a small notebook, crossing off little square boxes every night. Presently, his golden eyes scanned his handiwork. Eight boxes were crossed off in total.

"Mako…" came a weak voice to his right.

Drenched from to toe in a mixture of rainwater and the ocean, Mako's younger brother Bolin had just come inside from the deck, his face still slightly green though not quite the clear shade of his eyes. Bolin slumped down next to Mako with a squelch of wet clothes. He let out a pained sigh.

"How do you do it, bro?" asked Bolin, blearily glancing sideways at Mako who was still contemplating his little notebook.

"Do what?"

Bolin jerked his head weakly. "This. You. Not, you know –" He mimed vomiting but stopped abruptly before he really threw up.

"Well, Bo, I keep telling you not to eat so much," Mako replied in a matter-of-fact voice. He rummaged around in his rucksack and produced a small canteen of water. "Here, drink this," he said and proffered it to Bolin who accepted it without a word.

A moment of silence passed between the two brothers while one continued to scratch away in a notebook while the other tried not to dribble so much water down his chin as the ship swayed from side to side. Someone's bag slid down the aisle next to their seat as the floor tipped at an angle before leveling out again.

"Seriously, Mako," Bolin began, "how're you doing it? And don't tell me you're not eating –"

"I'm not –"

"Yeah, yeah, not as much as me, I get it; but there other people who haven't eaten in days still puking outside – you're not one of them." Bolin shifted his position to face his older brother. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Mako said nothing. Instead he flipped his notebook to the very back pages. The paper was nearly black with tiny cramped writing, overlapping and crisscrossing so that no more than a few characters were visible.

"I had that dream again," said Mako quietly.

"That… dream?"

Mako nodded. "The one with Dad in it."

Bolin leaned in a little closer, his motion sickness partially forgotten.

"Did he… say anything?"

For a moment, Mako tried to remember the previous night when his father had appeared before him. He had looked exactly the same as he had done on the morning of his departure – the last time anyone in their family ever saw him. Even in the dream his father was exceptionally tall, a trait he had passed on to Mako. His expression had been unreadable, slightly obscured by a shadow. Had he spoken? It was difficult to tell. The truth was that Mako didn't want to remember the ending. The recurring dream always turned out to be a nightmare.

"Nothing. It was just a dream." The words were mostly to reassure himself. It was just a dream. "But it keeps me distracted so I guess that's why I'm not getting sick."

"I wish Dad would visit me in my dreams," said Bolin, clearly unaware of Mako's unrest. "Instead it's always some sort of… girl."

Mako snorted with laughter. "You're dreaming about girls now? Lucky you."

"It's not like that…" said Bolin sheepishly. "It's always the same person but I don't really know who it is. I can only see her back, never her face."

"So... what does her back look like?"

Bolin considered this question seriously. "She has a ponytail and from the back she looks really... strong."

"Strong?"

"Yeah, you know, like really buff and muscular."

"You sure this wasn't a guy?"

"No, it was definitely a girl."

Bolin paused for a moment, apparently deep in thought. Then, quite abruptly as though struck with a brilliant idea, he turned to his older brother excitedly. Mako expected Bolin to announce the identity of the mystery girl. Bolin leaned forward with a grin.

"Hey, you've got any of those dumplings left?"

a/n: Hello! Thanks for reading this short prologue. Before the story really kicks off, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to read Dreams of Earth and Fire. This story is the direct sequel of DEF and to show my gratitude to all those who are interested in reading it, I've decided to take the time to consider your suggestions. Please feel free to tell me what you'd really like to see in this story. If you haven't read Dreams of Earth and Fire yet, that is perfectly fine. However, I'd appreciate it if you were to be as specific as possible. If you want to see more action, tell me what you have in mind. If you never want to see a certain pairing to be endgame, drop me a line in your review. This doesn't mean that I'll incorporate all suggestions but I will definitely read through them. There is just one rule: I will never go against canon. That means that, however much you beg, I cannot make Tenzin a woman or turn Asami into a firebender. Everything else is fair game.