A/N: Hi all my lovely and faithful reviewers! It's your friendly neighborhood REDPENOFDOOM87, with the full length sequel to "Atonement". I've run the numbers on this fic and it looks like we're in for a 23-4 chapter story here...filled with action, romance, some humor and a whole lotta girl power!!
I own nothing except for Kana, Iroh, Roku, Yori, Hoshi, Jiro and anyone else you don't recognize...
This story was practically inspired by certain events in my own life and the chapters may or may not be put up as fast as they used to...some of it is kind of hard to write...don't worry no one gets raped or murdered or anything...I'll let you know what I mean because I think it is a problem that a lot of young people are facing now a days
Developing Kana's character was a lot harder than I thought it would be, I wanted her to have traits that were both Katara's and Zuko's and yet have her own personality too, help me achieve this please!!
If you haven't read "Atonement" you probably should, it'll tell you everything you need to know, because I will be referencing certain ideas or sayings from it.
READ AND ENJOY!!
Firefly: Chapter 1:
"I am your opus,
I am your valuable,
The pure gold baby" Sylvia Plath
The late afternoon sun pierced through the leafy canopy of tree branches. It cast brilliant diamonds on the river's slowly churning surface. The gentle hum of the river lapping against its banks and the odd rock set in the ancient bed. The unusually tall girl, stood on one of the aforementioned rocks, which was warm from being in the sun all day. Her bare toes curled over the edge as she listened to the distant roar of the waterfall, which was where this particular river ended. She raised her arms and the river rose with them.
"You're going to get your pants wet, Princess," a lanky boy of about eighteen or so, observed from the bank, lounging under a maple tree.
The girl, who had only been sixteen for a few weeks, turned and brushed her long ebony hair off her face. She smirked, putting on hand on her hip. "You're just trying to get me to take them off," she retorted. She was dressed as she normally was; in a slightly over large blood red tunic, fastened with one of her brother's old black leather belts atop a pair of half pants that tied at the knees. She'd bribed a laundress to make them for her about a year ago and the best part was that she could wear a skirt over them and no one would know.
He shrugged and lay back on his hands.
The girl ignored him and twisted her hands around and around, pulling the water up from the river. It grew higher and higher until it towered over both of them. Smiling to herself, she whipped her hands to the right and it toppled all over her companion.
"KANA!" He roared.
Kana hid her giggles behind her hand as she leapt from the rock to the opposite bank. She glanced behind her to see Jiro running after her, somewhat awkwardly she noted. The water was weighing down his clothes making him waddle like a turtle-duck. Now she laughed out loud but kept running, ducking and weaving between the towering maple trees.
Spring was fading slowly into summer, and Kana could feel it. The days were passing quickly, life was always changing. It was how Kana liked it. There was always something to look forward to. The winter was too deary, too dark. Kana preferred the sun and its warmth.
But not a moment later, she felt his cold wet hand grab hold of her waist and pull her back toward him. "I caught you," he whispered into her hair which made her shiver.
Kana twisted around, cocking her head to one side. "Are you sure I didn't let you catch me?" She asked.
Jiro grinned like a saber-toothed moose-lion with one paw on a plump and stupid meadow vole. "I'm sure, Princess."
"Good..." was all she could think as he backed her up against the nearest tree. She considered his elegant face; peach golden skin, lovely full lips and brilliant almond shaped hazel eyes. His hands, which went around her waist, were already warm, not from the afternoon in the sun, but from him. He, like her oldest brother Iroh, was a fire bender and she wished with all her heart she could be one too.
She was lucky though, she thought as his kissed her again and again. As tom-boyish as she was, he still wanted to kiss her, still wanted to be near her. She had never really fit in with other girls. Kana was always more interested in following after her brothers and having adventures instead of gossiping and trying on clothes. The other girls giggled behind their hands at her at her clumsiness and only seemed to befriend her to help curry favor for their families.
When she was with the boys; they didn't care if her hair was a mess or if her face was dirty. It didn't matter to them, if she was a willing participant in their unruly adventures, all the better. The other boys tolerated her, but Jiro accepted her, understood her.
Suddenly she pulled back, breathless. "What time is it?" she demanded.
Jiro shrugged. "About an hour before sunset... why?"
"My mother is going to kill me!" Kana cried as she untangled herself from Jiro's ropy arms. "I'll see you later!" she called over her shoulder as she ran toward her tethered ostrich-horse. The big black beast was startled by her sudden approach but in a few quick movements, Kana was on his back and digging her heels into his sides. Not a moment later, the pair of them were crashing though the underbrush.
She ducked beneath his long neck to avoid the low hanging tree branches. But despite all her practice and skill, she still wasn't quick enough to dodge a branch she saw out of the corner of her eye. She bashed the right side of her face into it. She let out a low growl but kept riding. Kana didn't have time to stop.
Finally, she reached the stables where two grooms were waiting. "You're late, miss," One of them chided, taking the ostrich-horse's reins.
"I know, I know!" She shouted as she ran to the nearest palace entrance. Once inside, she took every available short cut to her room.
She threw open the door to her room and started pulling off her damp and dirty practice clothes. Standing there in her underclothes, Kana went searching frantically through her closet for the formal robes she had to wear. She finally found the dark red formal robes, had put them on and was splashing her face with water from her vanity when her brother appeared.
"Wow," Iroh commented as she whipped around to face him. "You really do look like Dad."
"What?"
"Your black eye."
Kana turned to the mirror. It was no secret which side of the family she took after. Her pale skin, glossy black hair and high cheekbones were all courtesy of their father. Her grandmother Ursa loved to pat her cheeks and tell her that she looked just like her father when he was young. Except for her eyes, which were as blue as the midsummer sky, her eyes were like her mother's. And that was not the only thing Kana inherited from her.
As Kana studied the mirror's reflection, she saw the bright purple and dark red bruising already coming up. Now that she thought about it, it had become increasingly hard to see out of her right eye. "Mom is going to murder me!" She groaned.
Iroh let out a huge guffaw. "Of course she is!"
"You are not helping!"
He shrugged. "I'm your brother; I'm not supposed to help."
She glared at him as she started to pull her hair off the nape of her neck. Both of her brothers looked like her mother, Iroh more than either of them. He had her somewhat round face and blue eyes, all three of them did. He had her dark brown hair and the patience to outlast the earth. He was much wiser than Kana could ever hope to be and she hated that he was always right.
"Why did you have to do this today, Waterbug?" He asked. "Especially with Yori coming and the entire court out to greet her..."
"Well, I'm sorry to tell you, Iroh," Kana snarled. "I didn't exactly plan for this to happen." Kana took out her diadem, placed her inher hair, and secured it with a few pins.
"Mom is still going to have a cow-hippo..."
"I tend to make her do that," Kana agreed as she tucked a few stray hairs into place. "Alright, I'm somewhat acceptable...let's go!"
Kana and her brother tore down the hallway to where they would meet their parents, only they found their mother pacing as she waited for them. Fire Lady Katara took one look at her daughter. "By all the sprits, what have you done to your face...?"
Kana sighed. "I was riding back from the river and a branch came out of nowhere..."
"What were you doing out?" Kana watched with horror as a suspicious look came into her mother's eye. "I told you to stay close..."
"I...was working on my bending," There, Kana justified. She wasn't lying completely. "You're always telling me that I need to practice."
Katara took her daughter's face in her hands as she examined the black eye. "I remember saying something to that effect, yes."
"Get into another fight, Firefly?" Kana's father appeared. He stooped to drop a kiss on Katara's head and wound an arm around her shoulders as he watched his wife healing Kana's black eye.
"Only with a tree branch and lost!" Iroh laughed. "I swear, she looks more and more like you every day, Dad."
Kana growled at all of them. But it was something she should have been used to. Ever since her seventh birthday and her water bending had made itself known, Kana had been the butt of her brother's jokes; saying she'd been adopted and calling her "Waterbug". It was a nickname that survived even to this day. With her brothers being eighteen and twenty-one respectively, Kana thought maybe they had grown out of it...apparently, she was wrong. Whenever Roku wrote, he always referred to her as "Waterbug", and he was a scholar no less, having completed two years at Ba Sing Se University.
Her father leaned over and noted her surly appearance as Katara finished. "A very good likeness," he confirmed. "The scowl is a nice touch, my dear."
"Glad you think so," She grinned back as she took Iroh's offered arm and followed their parents out before the court. Personally, Kana hated all this pomp and circumstance, but because she was a princess, sacrifices had to be made on her part. Still, Kana squirmed against the heavy formal robes.
"Stop wiggling!" Iroh hissed as they stepped out onto the dais where they awaited Yori and her escort.
"Sorry," Kana whispered. "Is Sayuri watching or something?"
That brought a blush to Iroh's cheeks. He was hopeless head over heels for Sayuri and Kana used to her advantage any chance she got. "Shut up, Waterbug!" He elbowed her in the ribs.
"She is! I knew it!"
And then, a slight petite figure came to the top of the dais as the sun was setting behind them. Resplendent in powder blue dress robes and trimmed in white seal fur, was Kana's older cousin Yori. She was escorted by none other than Kana's uncle Aang, the current Avatar. Having completed her formal Healer's training at the North Pole, Yori was on her way back home and decided to stop both in the Earth Kingdom to visit Aunt Toph, Uncle Aang and Roku in Ba Sing Se, and also Kana's parents.
She was a slight thing; elegant in her movements and yet not fragile. Her hair had more of a reddish tinge to it, but her eyes were ice blue, like Kana's, like Katara's. Yori smiled as she reached Kana's father and took his offered hands. Katara kissed both of Yori's cheeks and Kana saw her mother's eyes fill with unshed, stationary tears. She assumed they were tears of happiness as she embraced her brother's daughter...the daughter she helped bring into the world...but somehow, Kana didn't think so. There was something more, some sadness that Kana couldn't understand.
Then suddenly Yori stood before her and Kana leaned down to kiss both of her cheeks. It was strange that now she towered over her older cousin. "Welcome, cousin," She whispered, as was the proper greeting for such an occasion.
"It is good to be welcomed so warmly," Yori replied as she should. All was as it should be.
Later, at Yori's formal welcoming party, Kana watched everyone from the corner of the courtyard which was awash in brightly colored lanterns.
Iroh and Sayuri found each other and it was as if they were two halves of a magnet that couldn't stand to be apart any longer. Her big brother was such a softie, Kana smiled as he looked down at Sayuri. Not that she could blame him, Sayuri was by far the most beautiful woman at the Fire lord's court. With her dark black hair that almost shone purple in the sunlight and eyes as green as the grass beneath their feet set in a pale heart shaped face, Kana was not surprised at all; half of the court was in love with the lady.
While not having inherited either earth bending from her father or fire bending from her mother's side of the family, Sayuri was a master of hand-to-hand combat, very much like her mother; the esteemed Ty Lee. Kana's Aunt Suki had even asked her if she'd like to come and train as a Kyoshi Warrior a few years back. Sayuri had declined, saying that she couldn't imagine moving so far from her family and home.
Kana would probably be calling her 'big-sister' in a few years time, if things with her and Iroh were progressing as they should. Both of Kana's parents were thrilled when they found out and Sayuri had become a staple at the palace.
Suddenly, Kana caught sight of Jiro leaning nonchalantly against the wall chatting with a few of his friends. She started over toward him, but stopped short when she saw another girl slithering up to him. She watched him smile that slow sweet smile and put his arm around her. Kana bowed her head a little...now she understood why they'd met in secret today...to make sure Kana didn't know about his new girlfriend. This was how it always was between them...they would be together for a few weeks, then inevitably he would find a girl, be with her for a few weeks and then come back to Kana... it probably wasn't the smartest way...but it was the only way she knew.
Feeling a little sorry for herself, Kana grabbed a glass of wine from the nearest table and downing it instantly. She shuddered a little as the wine burned the back of her throat. She set down the empty glass and took another. These break-ups were always easier to deal with when she had a few glasses of wine.
"How long has that been going on?" Yori was suddenly beside Kana, nodding in Iroh and Sayuri's direction.
Kana shrugged. "About two years or so...it's so adorable, it's almost nauseating." She downed the rest of the wine.
"I hear that," Yori shook her head. "You should have been there when Yuuna was courting her husband...great spirits above! You'd think the moon rose and set on that man!"
"I can't believe she's married...and is pregnant..."
"That's why I'm heading home. I want to be there for the birth...you should come too...Grandfather would love to see you."
Kana smiled. "I'd love to see him too; maybe we can figure out a trip or something...I know Mom misses the South Pole a lot. She won't say it out-right, but sometimes..." Kana shrugged as she reached for the words.
"We miss her too." Yori assured Kana. "But her place is here, with your father."
Kana looked over to see her parents completely content in each other's presence. It had been so for as long as Kana could remember. She knew the stories of how he was once the ruthless and fearful Prince Zuko scouring the world as he hunted the Avatar, and she had been a simple girl born and raised in the Southern Water Tribe who befriended said Avatar. Kana knew the countless stories of their battles, fire versus water, good versus evil, or at least that was how it was in the beginning...
Still, sometimes, Kana could not understand how two such opposites could find so much joy in one another. She'd asked her mother once, a number of years ago, and Katara had said something about Tui and La, about how opposites can complete you. Kana shook her head in disbelief, obviously her mother had been at the wine bottle and nothing she said could be trusted.
"Who will you be, Kana?" her mother asked her every so often. "Who will you be?" Normally, it was not a hard question, but Kana found that when one is the daughter of the Fire Lord and a Master water bender, such a question was difficult to answer. For sixteen years, she had walked the line between fire and water, sun and moon, light and dark. Which would she choose, if the chance presented itself?
Kana had yet to find where she fit into the grand scheme of things. She might have looked the part of the Fire Nation Princess she was born, but with her blue eyes and water bending...she had never truly felt it.
Oh the fun has just begun!!