Do you know how cringey it is to go through your old stories? Because it really is. Anyway... it's me. I'm back. Kinda. I'm out of practice and dislike typing cause it irritates me, my grammar has gone to shit due to reading bad ffs and I'm a whole new bitter person.
Either way, welcome back to my story! It's gonna be a lot of crack. Just saying.
Note: Kaia is pronounced "Kai-ya" or "Ka-ya".
Chapter 1: An Everlasting Peace of Mind
The roar of tiger seals echoed throughout the landscape.
Kaia's eyes flickered open. She stared at the sky, the fading orange hues that made it seem like brilliant, bright fire. She raised her hand to the sky, and a flame burst into existence in the centre of her palm. It made her smile – a twitch of one side of her mouth.
The sounds of firebending being practiced with unparalleled vigor made her tilt her head just the slightest bit to view the angry prince attempt to utterly decimate his guards.
A stray stream of flame narrowly missed her face. Kaia yelped, then rolled over and landed painfully on the deck from where she was precariously balanced on the wide railing.
"Hell!" she cursed at the sheepish-looking guard and stupid prince. "I could've fallen into the ocean!"
"You wouldn't have," Zuko dismissed indifferently. "Either way, you're too stupid to die."
Kaia rose to her feet. "Wanna say that again, scarface?" she growled.
"You heard me, scum," he snapped back, just as feral.
"Now, now, children," Iroh stated serenely, sipping his tea. "Let's not fight on such a lovely day."
The teens leveled deadpan looks at the old man. Lovely day? It was the same every day. There was the sea surrounding them, seemingly endless, with frozen landscape occasionally dotting the wide expanse of water, and horribly cold air that chilled their very bones.
It was routine.
However, it seemed to be the day that the routine was to be broken, if that giant beam of light stretching from the sky in the far distance said anything.
Kaia's jaw dropped, and she stared in unconcealed awe. There was a feeling, deep in her soul, that pulled her in that direction. Unbidden, she took a step forward.
Then an annoying voice shattered it. "Finally."
Oh Spirits, she thought despairingly. He's gonna go into dramatics again, isn't he? I can't deal with this.
"Uncle, do you realize what this means?" said the prince with a penchant for dramatics. Kaia mouthed the words mockingly behind him, making one of the guards stifle a laugh.
Iroh, looking deceptively innocent, moved a Pai Sho tile and said, "I won't get to finish my tea?" Kaia cackled on the inside.
Zuko, now fully immersed in his role of a dramatic, deaf prince, said, "It means my search - it's about-"
"Aaaaaand cut! Great job, Actor Zuko, but we don't need so much angst in this scene. The broody prince is meant to realize that his journey is about to come to and end, he isn't about to sail to his death-"
"Silence!" Zuko roared, letting loose an arc of flame straight at Kaia's head. With infuriating grace, she fell into a split and threw her arms up in the air like a performer. A couple of guards broke out into applause. "Stop ruining my moment, you piece of trash!" Zuko screamed, his voice deep and jagged with frustration. It seemed that when Kaia had joined his crew three years ago, all she'd accomplished so far was frustrating the hell out of him.
"You can't make me shut up, weakling~ Just try," Kaia sneered, teeth bared and feral.
"How dare you-"
"Children."
Both stopped, flames in their palms. Cold sweat gathered at the back of Kaia's neck. Iroh was smiling serenely, but appearances were deceiving. His tone betrayed the command of the word. If there was one person in all the land that Kaia was terrified of, it would be Iroh.
Apparently Zuko shared that sentiment to a certain extent, because he extinguished his fire the same time she did and glared at Iroh.
"That light.. it has to be the Avatar!"
Iroh looked at his nephew with saddened eyes. "Perhaps. But perhaps it isn't. It could just be celestial lights-"
"Iroh," Kaia interrupted. She fidgeted on her feet when he looked at her, and Zuko reluctantly faced her. With more certainty than she felt, she straightened and looked them both in the eye. "Such a powerful light.. is not a mere phenomenon. You may have not, but I felt it. There is powerful spiritual energy emanating from that point." Her eyes grew glassy. "It is.. worth looking into. I am, however, confident that it is who we are looking for."
Iroh eyed her for a moment, unsure. Zuko did not have any hesitations. "This is the most useful thing you've said today. As irritating as you are.. I trust your judgment." He seemed to have great difficulty in admitting the last point. Kaia almost smiled. "Helmsman! Head a course for the light."
}~|::|~{
Firebender though she may be, Kaia had a horrible habit of sleeping well into the afternoon.
(Maybe it was because of the nightmares that plagued her in the hours the sun was not present.)
By the time she'd woken up, it was mid-afternoon. I make a horrible fire devout, she thought idly. I can't even bring myself to rise with the sun. She scoffed out loud.
On deck, Zuko was practicing his firebending. She recognized the set, a basic one that had taken her forever (nearly two weeks!) to master. Zuko was performing well, his movements powerful and sharp. His fire was weak, though. She noticed that there was something holding him back, like it always was.
Iroh stopped Zuko after his impressive assault on the guards, and gets up. "No! Power in firebending comes from the breath. Not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire." Iroh demonstrated, releasing a controlling plume of flame that burst in front of Zuko, stopping short of hitting him. "Get it right this time."
Kaia can see the rage build up behind Zuko's eyes, and before it could explode, she spoke. "Good morning, boys!" she said as cheerily as she could, walking further on deck.
Iroh chuckled, his stern demeanor vanishing momentarily. "My dear girl, I am neither young enough to be called a 'boy' anymore, nor is it morning! It seems you have slept quite well, once again."
She smiled at him. "I did, Iroh, thank you. Zuko, how's training going?"
The prince snarled. "Not as well as I'd hoped, since I need to learn the next set now." The last bit was directed at Iroh, who looked nonplussed.
"Prince Zuko, do remember that you have to be proficient in the basics before I start tutoring you on the advanced set!"
Zuko growled and blasted one of the guards attempting to execute a stealth attack, without even a backwards glance. "I do not have time to practice this anymore, Uncle. Unlike me, the Avatar has had years upon years to perfect his bending. If I hope to be a match to him, I need to learn as much as I can. You will teach me the advanced set!"
Iroh sighed, resigned. "As you wish, prince. Only after I finish my roast duck, of course. In the mean time, Kaia, start your warm-up and spar with Prince Zuko for a while."
Kaia resisted the urge to sigh, her laziness weighing her down and her stomach growling for food. Of course, she didn't dare say a word to Iroh (she respected the man as much as she was terrified of him), and unquestioningly started her stretches. Zuko sat cross-legged a distance from her, fidgeting in a way that would annoy her after a while if he kept that up.
Their relationship was.. complicated. As much as the two liked to tear at each other, Kaia like to think that there was genuine friendship between them. She was forever grateful to the prince was allowing her on his ship, saving her from something he did not know not have any reason to care for. She'd witnessed some of his most defining moments aboard this vessel, and on the occasions when no one was around to disturb them, the two had shared enough about themselves that they knew whatever was meant to be known about the other.
Their bond was forged through fire and fists, most of all. They fought together, and against each other, and that lead to an understanding that ran deeper than words did.
Kaia was far too tired to initiate any kind of banter this morn—err, afternoon. When she spoke, she kept her tone as polite and light as she could. "How do you feel, Zuko?"
His gaze turned to her, sharp and still burning with that perpetual rage he always seemed to posses. When he met her eyes, the creases on his forehead seemed to soften. His voice was hard when he responded. "I am fine. On the outside, at least." He sighed, and lowered his voice. "I do not want to, however.. I feel hopeful. Perhaps my suffering has reached its end." The last sentence was a mere whisper, almost as if he was afraid of jinxing himself.
Kaia smiled at him, even though his gaze had wandered off elsewhere. "I think it might have, Zuko. I have hope, too."
He looked at her and stilled. Then he said, hesitantly, "I suppose.. this once, it is alright to feel hopeful." He stared (glared) at her and said (demanded), "How long are you going to take to warm up? Stop being lazy. Let's begin."
Kaia smirked, amused at the change in attitude. "Who are you calling lazy, baldy? You barely have the capacity to defeat me, you know. If that isn't proof of your unwillingness to train, then I don't know what is."
He snarled. "At least I train, unlike you, who just sleeps all day. How can you call yourself a firebender if you can't even rise with the sun, you freak?"
Ah, yes. The two of them definitely shared a deep, meaningful bond.
With identical roars, the two charged at each other. Zuko's fire, almost a blood red and hot to the touch, spiraled with controlled chaos towards Kaia while she ran at him. At the last second, she slid under the blast, knees skidding against the deck and burning at her skin beneath her clothes. She planted her hands in front of her knees before she could skid to a stop, and lifted herself up using her momentum, performing a handstand that hauled her off the ground and into the air.
Time seemed to stand still, and Zuko prepared a fist of flame, while Kaia was suspended in the air, her back arched and her face upside down and staring right into Zuko's angry eyes.
All movement resumed after that singular moment, and Kaia's legs channeled fire, and she brought the devastating attack down, aiming straight at Zuko's head.
Her flames burned bright as the sun and matched the color of the glaciers they were surrounded by. Zuko had long since gotten past his shock of the color, but Kaia still caught the flash of something in his eyes whenever he was witness to her flame.
The kick never connected, as Zuko used his fire fist to knock her leg out of the way, causing her to change course in mid-air. She landed to his left, in a crouch, her right hand stabilizing her against the ground. She didn't have a moment to breathe, however, when Zuko rapidly shot two bouts of flame at her, in rapid succession. Thinking quickly, she spun her legs in a circle against the ground and summoned a wave of white fire that blocked his attack. When the flames cleared, Kaia had to get on her feet and move rapidly as Zuko charged at her.
His fists on fire, he launched a rapid assault on her, which she deftly dodged. A deep breath, duck down, release breath, roll to the side, move left, deep breath—release, along with the heat building up in my gut. Kaia placed her hands just below her mouth in a half-tiger seal, and in a split second, unleashed her fire right at Zuko's shoulder. The surprised prince could not dodge fast enough, and the flames hit their target.
Zuko closed his eyes, expecting pain and a new scar. When he opened them, there was no pain and a distinct lack of clothes on fire. The flames has dissipated harmlessly upon contact with his training gear, however before he could counter, he felt the knife pressing against his neck and a weight against his back.
"You're dead," Kaia whispered, the sound almost foreboding in the quiet of post-battle.
"That's cheating," he responded, catching his breath.
"It's not cheating when you're caught in a fight where you could lose your life," Kaia responded, taking the knife away. She stepped back, and Zuko turned. With fire in his eyes, Zuko bowed, and Kaia bowed back.
When they were at eye level again (Kaia was a tall woman), Zuko saw the frustration in his friend's eyes (because Zuko was her friend, and she was his friend, even if neither would ever admit it). It was not difficult to find out the reason.
"Your fire did not burn me," he commented. He did not say this mockingly, for no matter how much the two argued and fought, some things were just not meant to be used against one another.
She glared at him, and wanted to shout, burn, anything. She controlled herself, and took a deep breath. Her shoulders sagged. "It.. comes and goes. I.. still don't know why or how it happens." Her gazed turned to somewhere far away, and she saw almost through Zuko. "If it happens in a fight outside of the two of us, I do not know what I will do." Her gaze focused on him again and she smiled wryly. "Of course, in this instance it is good that it did not burn. Couldn't dodge my attack, could ya? At least your clothes didn't catch on fire this time."
Zuko's ears burned. "I could have dodged it if I wanted to, alright? And also, that was one time."
Kaia giggled, her early melancholy having disappeared.
Iroh watched them, exchanging quiet words with each other, and smiled. Serenely, he poured himself a cup of post-lunch tea, and took a calming sip.
}~|::|~{
In the dead of the night, the scarred prince watched as a light illuminated the night sky. A flare, he thought. It was a sign, almost a sign from the gods. He was certain that's where the Avatar was located.
Hope built in his chest and determination fueled his being as he vowed to himself, for the umpteenth time: I will not let you go.
His search would be over soon, and he could finally rest.
He thought of his friend's words, about holding onto his hope. He took her advice infrequently, and she gave it rarely, but this time, a part of him believed her – wanted to believe her – without regard.
As he called for the guard to wake up his uncle, he held onto that hope and told himself that everything would go his way this time.
Word count: 2,499
End note: Don't expect regular updates.