A/N: Alas I am experiencing writer's block for my other fanfics, so I'm using this as an outlet of sorts to hopefully get the creative juices flowing again. This is a little darker than some of my other fics, but I hope you enjoy it just as much.

Chapter One: Earth and Water


Tumbler… oh wait, I forget we're in the 21st century and missing vowels makes everything more chic. Chic, yet another word that has probably lost all meaning to anyone who can't remember the 90's. Tumblr. The app pops up regardless of my seeming senility and proper spelling. I was advised to get one of these and drown in the abyss that is fandoms. That way I could forget about her… stale green eyes and all. I mutter to myself about how I'm thinking about her by telling myself that I'm trying to forget her, and then sigh as I realize how cyclical it can all be.

I honestly can't imagine myself scrolling down a webpage for longer than one minute; unless of course I was reading fanfiction. I liked reading and fanfiction wasn't an exception; some of my favorite writers were those with pen names. She hated fanfiction, or never really understood it anyways. She was about as malleable as a rock; earth was definitely her element. I shake my head and close my eyes to get the thoughts of her out of my head. How does everything I think of eventually lead back to her?

I look back at the screen, and groan as it prompts me to create a username. What in the seven spirit realms am I going to put? Putting my name is out of the question; I don't want anyone knowing something that personal, and everything I type is somehow taken. My fingers clack away, not pressing hard enough to actually type anything, as I try and come up with something semi-original. What would capture the very spirit I embody, and let people know that I'm unique in this mass conglomerate of social media? WhyBotherAtAll… that sounds perfect, actually. I give a faint smile as it accepts the username and I move on to the more creative aspects of the site.

I didn't really make one of these to post stuff, but maybe somewhere down the road, I'd post some of my doodles or something. Although I love doodling and writing fanfic on my spare time, I'm not too big on the whole sharing aspect. So how did Opal say this worked again? Just search any topic you want and start following people; I'm pretty sure that's what she said. I type in a few things, and find some pretty interesting fan art and memes. A few make me chuckle and I finally understand what Opal was talking about when she said I wouldn't be able to stop scrolling down once I followed enough interesting people.

I'm scrolling for what seems like ages when I come upon a picture of an actual person. Strange, I hadn't seen a pic of anyone, but I guess some people aren't as anonymous. Her eyes are green, kind of like the girl I'm trying to forget, but much paler. Other than having green eyes, she's nothing like the girl I find myself unable to hate regardless of the pain she put me through. She looks happy, carefree and gentle. Her hair isn't pinned up in a tight, oppressive bun, instead, it hangs loose and free.

I sigh as I realize how long I've been staring at her picture instead of scrolling down. When I look up, I see that someone's reblogged her original post… I hesitate as I venture to find the owner of the pic. It's not like I'll ever message her or anything; it would just be interesting to see what kind of person she is… or at least as much as tumblr can tell me. Upon finding her page, I smile at the similar interests she has, including women. I wince slightly at her age… 19. Then again, Kuvira was 4 years older than me… and that never was an issue, well not until she made it one.

Again I shake my head and push out the painful memories, so I can focus on the stranger before me. It's so strange, here I am meeting someone who has no idea that I'm looking at them; if I thought long enough about it, it made me feel like a creeper. I click out of her tumblr and walk to the kitchen with an empty glass of ice. It's quiet now that she's gone; no more yelling at Naga or yelling at me for that matter. As I'm pouring water into the glass, I realize what I need in my life is more ice. The strange abstract thought is either a stroke of genius or a result of staying up past twilight; it's most likely the latter. If Kuvira was earth, and I was water, it would have taken ages to make her edges smooth and less jagged. Everything I said to her bounced right off of her; even when I was just trying to talk things out, she took everything offensively and shielded herself at my expense. But if I met someone who was more like ice; someone who could adapt and change when I came into their life...wouldn't that be something. I swish the ice cubes in my cup as they grow smaller. Hopefully they wouldn't disappear like this ice eventually would.

I chuckle at my sad, little inner thoughts and head towards the bed. I pet Naga who lays contently by the bed. Kuvira had never let Naga so much as come into the room; always calling her a filthy, smelly dog, even though she was bathed. When we first met she seemed to like Naga well enough, but I should have noticed how Naga never really warmed up to her. I guess she could sense her lack of genuine affection from the get go; I wish I had those kind of instincts.

My head drowns itself in the pillow and I focus on my breathing. Tomorrow would be better, and it'd be a month since she left. Why am I even counting? I groan and turn on my side; I can feel the sleep crawling over me, pushing down on my lids. I won't be able to fight it much longer. I pray to the spirits that I won't dream of her again, to grant me one night of blissful, dreamless sleep. Is that really too much to ask for?