This chapter is a bit lighter than the first two. Thanks for the favorites and the follows. I hope you all enjoy this one. Please review.


She had been watching over a town for a day since she arrived. Kuvira recognized it from an earlier trip when she and the Earth Empire were giving aid. It was busy with food and clothes being handed out to people. She recognized the uniforms of the army and smirked to herself. Someone was smart to keep that look, she thought. Kuvira braided her hair and wrapped it around her neck before adjusting her shawl. When the soldiers had moved on, she left her camp.

She was in the middle of purchasing a bag of rice and beans when she felt the staring of a few townsfolk. She turned her head slightly to the right to see who they were before having her attention brought back to the shopkeeper. After she packed them in her bag, Kuvira turned only to face the three men that decided to come closer.

"I thought I recognized you." The bearded leader smirked, "It's the Great Uniter, gentlemen."

The second one sneered, "Coming back to enslave us, are you Great Uniter?"

She looked around for more thugs. She could not see anymore and that made her grin. Her bag was placed on her back as she answered.

"No, I'm actually just buying rice and beans."

"You're not going to need them when we return you to Republic City."

The street then erupted with violence. The three men attacked first, sending a volley of rocks towards the former dictator. Kuvira brought a sheet of rock up to block before breaking it down and sending the stone back. Although she had exercised in prison, it did not match the effort of strength like fighting did. Her limbs ached as she tried to fight head on. The iron she kept from the jail was soon released as she did not want to stay in the town. The earthbenders could not do much against her attacks other than take cover. Using this at her advantage, she took off before more of the town sought revenge against her.

Kuvira made a sharp left turn. She turned around on the toes of one foot to drag a cart into the middle of the road. As her other foot touched the ground, a pillar rose, tossing the men away from her. She then pulled the shawl down from around her face so she could turn her head with ease.

Before her were soldiers whom had finally joined the chase. She took the closest right turn before leaping onto another cart. Her continued momentum brought her into another leap from the cart and onto the rooftops of the town. After a few more cautious jumps across the rooftops, she had to stop to catch her breath. The extra weight of her food and years of not moving like she had, were finally catching up to her. She peeked down from the roof to see a few of the soldiers run past. Across the street, another couple of soldiers continued across the roof.

After they passed by, she let out a quiet chuckle. Kuvira could not believe that she had managed to lose them. It felt wrong for breaking the law and running from it. Captain Kuvira would have probably given in, understanding where her fault laid. The Great Uniter would have whipped them around like they were nothing, grinning and playing with them out of being far too arrogant. But after eleven years of being in jail and almost hung, all she could do was laugh.

"Hello."

Kuvria jumped in her place from the small voice. It was a young girl. Her hair was dark and her eyes grey. She was obviously too young to know who she was talking to.

"What do you want, kid?" Kuvira asked after regaining her wits.

"I want to learn how to do what you did to get on the roofs."

"And why would you want to do that? It seems like you can manage to climb to the rooftops already."

The girl shrugged, "I don't have a home to go to and I want to learn how to jump like that because it looked cool! I have to find something neat like this."

Kuvira frowned, "I am not good with kids, girl. You don't want to stay with me. You probably don't even know who I am. How old are you?"

"Seven."

The older woman sighed, "Sit. I can at least feed you when we manage to get to my camp before we part ways."

The girl rushed in and hugged her tightly, "Thank you."

She was quickly pushed away as Kuvira warned her to never hug her. The metalbender brushed herself off like she was trying to remove any sign of being hugged.

"I'm Suki. What's your name?"

"It's unimportant."

"Unimportant? What kind of a name is that?" the girl's grey eyes shined with curiosity.

"No, that's not my name." the older woman said, quite frustrated with the girl's questions, "You know what? Let's just go with Unimportant."


Kuvira waited until nightfall before they left the roof. There were still patrols going by but for the most part, the strange duo was able to get out of town without giving themselves away.

She struggled with getting the campfire lit again. Kuvira cursed as she pressed the stick into a log and tried to spin the stick fast enough to get an ember. The young girl was watching patiently. She did not quite understand what the purpose of using two sticks in the manner her new 'friend' was.

"Can I help?"

"Unless you can put enough pressure on this to create a spark, then no. I don't need your help." Kuvira stopped to rest her sore muscles, "Damned thing."

"How about this?"

Kuvira looked up to see that the girl held a small flame in her hand. The sounds of sticks breaking echoed through the woods as the metalbender took out her frustration. Suki smiled as she thought she was helping.

"Light the wood then." Kuvira finally spoke.

The next few minutes were filled with Suki telling stories about some monkey-squirrel or something. Kuvira was not really listening. She was working on getting the rice and beans cooked. Whether or not she was cooking them properly, she could not tell. Learning how to cook was never a necessity. Suyin always that a chef and someone in the camps was always able to provide her with a meal when she was hungry.

"Are you an earthbender?" the girl finally asked her.

Kuvira looked up from the pot she had taken from the prison, "Yes."

"You're not the Avatar, are you? I hear she can bend everything. I've always wondered what it would be like to bend everything."

The former dictator's brow perked, "What makes you think I'm the Avatar?"

"You look old and the way you jumped in the town was neat. My friends say that the Avatar is also very nice."

Kuvira swore she could hear a stand of hair or two change from black to grey in that moment. How dare this child call her old?

"I'm not old." Kuvira paused, "And I'm not the Avatar. She's from one of the Water Tribes."

"You know her? Were you two friends?"

"In a way, I suppose."

"How old are you?"

"Old enough."

"That's not a number. I can count to one hundred."

Kuvira sighed, "That's wonderful. Why don't you hand me that bowl?"

"Alright!" the girl said jumping up from her spot on the ground.

She soon returned with the bowl. The metalbender filled the bowl and handed it to the girl. She would have to wait to feed herself as she only had the one. A thought suddenly came to her as the girl made a face from the taste of the rice and beans.

"Where are you parents?"

"I ran away."

Kuvira was puzzled, "Why would you run away from your parents?"

"My father is sick and he can't work anymore. I ran away so my parents can afford to feed my baby brother."

The former dictator managed a smile, "That's very noble of you but they must be worried. I don't think that running away is helping them."

"Do you have parents?"

That question hit her hard. The thought of her own parents stung still.

"No. I don't have a family."

"You can be my older sister then! Then you would have family."

Kuvira was beginning to wonder if all children were as naïve as Suki was. Of course she could not be her sister. The metalbender was probably older than her parents were.

"I can't be your sister. We just met. Which makes me think… why did you come to me? Didn't your parents tell you about strangers? Not everyone is nice."

"You're nice." The girl smiled as she finished the bowl. She would then hand it over to Kuvira so she could use it.

"No," Kuvira looked away, "Once I might have a long time ago, but not anymore."

The rest of the night before the child fell asleep on her lap Kuvira was telling her about when she was a dancer. Suki had somehow managed to get that particular information from her. The metalbender spent a few minutes telling her about the recitals and how she used bending. When she paused to check on the girl, Suki had fallen asleep with her head in Kuvira's lap. The former dictator untied her shawl from around her neck and placed it over the girl before laying back. Tomorrow they would begin their journey back to Suki's town. She let out a satisfied smile before drifting off to sleep.