A/N: If anyone wants me to write the original on here, just review and say so! :)

I never thought it would end this way. I always imagined that we'd win the war and everything would go back to normal. But the Shadow Colony, my sister's and my home, was gone, and there was no fixing that. We were the only ones left. A bit like Aang, really.

I guess that, being his Guardian, our lives were more closely linked than we thought. After all, I did fall in love with the Avatar's girlfriend's brother. And look where that had gotten me. Just a lot of heartbreak and friendzone and eventually... mourning.

When I had watched him fall, out on the battlefield as we fought against Azula for control of my city, something inside me broke. I physically heard the snapping of the bandages on my broken heart. Kyi tells me these days that I'm not the same, and Katara and Aang say the same thing, that I went from being a morbidly sarcastic comedian to a hollow shell of a girl. But who are they to talk? Kyi's off skipping around all happy with Zuko, who'd (who knew the guy would put up with picking flowers with her?) and Aang and Katara were the new lovesick "it" couple.

And me. The lonely hermit. The one who'd seen her true love hit straight in the chest with a lightning bolt.

Somehow for a while I'd held on to this thought that he was coming back, that he survived and was going to appear in our camp any day now. But then I realized I was being delusional. I finally accepted the fact that although I'd never truly expressed my feelings to the Water Tribe warrior, that he wasn't going to show. Nobody could survive an attack to the vitals...

"Lynia, come swim with us!"

"Guys, get out of the fountain..."

"Katara, it's fine, the other kids used to do it all the time..."

I could hear the others chattering in the background as I leaned against the pillar, knees pulled against my chest, but I didn't acknowledge the sound of my name. The cliff across from us had some very interesting shapes... but then again, these days I saw his face in everything. Clouds, waterfalls, wolves, cliffsides...

I jumped, feeling a hand against my shoulder. I turned to see Katara looking at me sympathetically; I shot her a glare and stood. "I'm going for a walk," I stated angrily. I didn't need their pity, I was perfectly fine! It wasn't like I'd die or anything...

Hmph. I sat down again once I'd gotten a satisfactory distance away from them, i.e around to the next temple. Here I could do my thinking. I wouldn't cry, I'm not gonna cry... Oh, screw it.

I finally let a sob erupt, tears sprining forward almost instantaneously. It was one of those that sounded like it'd been trapped inside me for weeks, which wasn't too far off, really. Maybe I finally had lost it; I could almost hear his voice, saying my name, asking me what was wrong...

Hoooh yeah, I'd snapped.

I stood, wiping away the saltwater on my face, and went back to camp, passing my friends splashing away in the fountain and going straight for my tent. Sleep was sweet haven, maybe I'd have another dream about him...

Wow. It was pathetic how much my thoughts spiraled down to the same topic.

I crawled into my sleeping bag and buried my face in the cushy pillow, soaking it with tears. It might have been seconds, minutes, or even days later when a loud scream echoed through the camp; I jumped up and charged out of the tent, ready to fight.

What I saw before me would be etched into my brain for all of eternity.