Platinum covered every square inch of the cell. The cold metal wrapped around the entire room, on every surface, and the uniformity didn't break even for a mattress or sheet; there was just nothing else. Nothing to bend.
Clearly, this room was designed to imprison metalbenders, but the cold metal surface was their best bet at holding the man before her. Kya wondered how effective this room could really be against a bloodbender, but it was temporary. It was the only option in the city, and the city was the only option until they could build something more permanent.
"Are they feeding you?" She asked. It was a legitimate question. Given what he could do, it was possible they might be too afraid to go near him. Still, here she was, sitting across from him, not dead.
He stared back at her with a blank expression. Really, he looked like a mess. Days passed since he was last at the temple, and it showed. Soot still clung to his hair from the explosion, discoloring his golden halo into an ashy gray. Grime coated his face in a shiny layer of sweat, staining the same t-shirt he wore that night. She supposed the guards couldn't exactly let him near enough water to bathe, nor could they chance getting too close to him.
Yet here she was.
She leaned back in her chair, and the sound of the metal leg dragging against the metal floor in the metal room delivered a brief screech. Her hand rested on the table dividing them, fingernails tapping away as she considered what to do.
Kavi lugged his hands, encased fully in two, welded together platinum cylinders, onto the table as he awaited her next question.
But it wasn't a question. "Raiko wants to ship you out this time tomorrow," she told him. "Leave you to the White Lotus."
He tilted his head, clearly unperturbed by the news.
"You know, there's a reason why none of my family is actually in the White Lotus," she explained. He needed to understand the gravity of his situation. "After all, they came out of hiding to serve my father." Pause, but no reaction. "But when my mom saw how they kept Zaheer and his gang, that was it."
Nothing. He wasn't getting it. "I wouldn't wish it on anyone."
"Look," he spoke for the first time since they brought him here. "What do you expect to happen here?"
"Are you a part of their group or not?" The words blurted out of her mouth. She caught herself at the last syllable, but it was too late. No more playing coy; she was all in.
He raised an eyebrow as he leaned back, gawking at her theory. "Why would I have stopped him?"
It was a fair point. One that Tenzin made, too. But it wasn't an answer. "Mibae thinks you knew it was coming. She thinks you recognized someone out there, and that you acted before the explosion." Perhaps it was dangerous to loop back to one of the new airbenders, but it was evidence. She jabbed a finger at him. "How'd you pull that off if you're not a part of it?"
His lips pursed as he paused for a moment, his gaze far away. He spoke slowly. "They're… bad people."
She raised an eyebrow. She didn't know if that answered her question or raised ten new ones. "Coming from the guy who crushed one of them into a pulp."
"Well…" he started. "I'm not exactly a hero, either."
"His pupils pleaded with their master to eat something, but he refused," Tenzin continued his story. "Just like he had each day during summer."
He paused for a moment, eager to take in the excited faces of his own pupils, but when he looked up from the book he was surprised to find a rather disinterested crowd. The After fleeing Ba Sing Se, he led the airbenders to the Northern Air Temple, where they were eager to start their training. It was heartwarming at first, knowing that so many new airbenders had entered the world and wanted to learn about his culture… until he realized how few of them cared about the actual culture. To most of them, airbending was a new toy to play around with.
Which is why his mood took a nosedive as his eyes gazed across the crowd. Still, he would finish the story of Tang Xu's historic fast.
"Instead, he meditated, and got his nourishment from the universe…" He trailed off. His gaze finally fell on Jinora, hugging her knees into her chest behind the group of new airbenders. She was always his best student, but something changed.
He thought back to that night.
They were safe. They escaped the Earth Queen. They rescued the airbenders. They were flying far away from that woman's reach. Then, his poor daughter watched her friend get yanked off the sky bison and back into the Dai Li's custody.
They couldn't turn back. He knew it, and she knew it. But that couldn't have made it easier.
The loud groan of an approaching sky bison broke Tenzin out of his funk. "DAD!" He heard Meelo shout from way up in the sky.
The shaggy white fur of the two sky bison rained down upon Tenzin's class, who moaned in disgust. It was just that time of year!
Tenzin brushed the clumps of fur off his robes as he stood, watching the bison land with a trembling thud.
He addressed his class. "Okay, everyone is dismissed!" The cheers deflated his mood once again.
Tenzin turned away from the new arrivals in order to watch his class disperse. Most of the airbenders leapt up and started jabbering about one thing or another while walking back into the temple, but Jinora was another story. She got to her feet groggily, barely stepping out of the shadow of the precipice she once huddled under before the rest of the airbenders neared the gates of the temple. Once she finally had, she didn't join the others. Instead, she sauntered further away from the temple, not even acknowledging her siblings.
As the airbenders passed Tenzin on their way into the temple, Tenzin grabbed Brok's attention. He was the airbender who befriended Kai, and the same one who fought alongside them on their way out of the temple. "Brok, a word?" Jinora might not want to talk to her father, but she might hear it from him.
The airbender approached the master. He must've read the somber expression on Tenzin's face, because he seemed to understand the moment he looked back to find Jinora had disappeared. "I'll talk to her," he offered.
Tenzin responded with only a smile, throwing an appreciative look at the man.
He then turned back around to greet his family.
A lush green rolled through the hills surrounding the Northern Air Temple. Although the mountain stretched well below the temple, forcing rock to cut its way through the green landscape, Brok found himself even further, where the green hills almost entirely overcame the rocky cliffsides.
What made it beautiful wasn't the contrast of colors between mountains, hills, and lake, but the spirits roaming throughout the area. Brok never had the opportunity to be very spiritual himself, but he imagined the Air Nomads must have had the right idea, settling here. If the congregating spirits told him anything, it was that this was the place to be.
Which is why he was surprised to find Jinora examining an eel spirit from the edge of the lake. She didn't look sad, angry, or even confused. She just looked… interested.
"Hi," he introduced himself, not wanting to spook her.
She turned to face him, and the slight smile on her face disappeared. In its place sat a desolate expression. "Oh."
Oh? "'Oh'? That's all I get? I'm offended," he joked.
She lowered herself onto the grass in a slump. She sat cross legged, facing the water, and she began to pick at the grass absentmindedly. "I'm sorry," her tone was perfectly even. "It's just… you remind me of him."
That was fair. Maybe he shouldn't have made a joke. After all, how well did they know each other? Oh, hey, it's me, the guy who was locked up with your boyfriend. He was pretty cool, but I left him behind. That cool? This girl had a right to dislike him.
He knelt down beside her. "Hey, look at me." He tapped her chin, goading her to face him. "We'll get him back."
Her gaze finally met his, and her hazel eyes seemed to bore into his soul.
Her face was almost expressionless. She wore a thin-lipped pout, giving nothing away, but it was those eyes… she was sad. And he was making them that way.
He winced. "Don't look at me like that," he told her. "I already look at myself that way, I don't need you to start."
That almost seemed to unmask her. He could see her do the mental gymnastics trying to figure him out, but her eyes still had that look, even if they were also attentive.
He lowered himself the rest of the way, until he sat back on the warm grass. He brushed his hand through his black hair, which had grown too long since he was in the Dai Li's custody.
As he leaned back, anchoring himself against the ground with an outstretched palm, he considered what he could do. The fact was, nobody understood like he did. He knew how to reach out to her.
She beat him to it. "I know it's not fair," she admitted. "It's just… that's what I know of you."
She looked him up and down, sizing him up. She wasn't even half his age, but she was at least as observant.
"What's your story?" She asked. "Obviously, the Earth Queen caught you, but what were you before you became an airbender?"
He took a breath as if to answer, but he hesitated.
Finally, he released his breath. "To be honest, I don't know my story," he started. "I never knew my parents, so I have no idea where I came from."
That caught her attention. She snapped to, raising a finger to point out what he said. "Never? That's horrible!"
"Not really," he realized. "I mean, you don't miss what you never had." His hand ruffled the grass, and when his fingers caught in a tuft he started pulling at it without thinking.
"As long as I can remember, we just bounced around from place to place, making our way as best we could." Memories flooded back to him, and a smile spread across his lips. "I guess you'd call us street rats. The best of Ba Sing Se!"
"'We'?"
She must have been waiting on that, not wanting to interrupt. Truth be told, Brok hadn't even noticed he used that word.
Opal's small frame formed a silhouette against the glass enclosing of the bridge. From where he stood, Bolin could see the shadow of her hand waving at least a hundred feet above his head. As the ship rose higher and higher, the sun began to poke out from behind the ship, and he had no choice but to look away. He raised his hand in a final wave, and that was it.
But it wasn't. After finally coming out to her parents as an airbender, Opal decided to head to the Northern Air Temple, where she could join the others. Within a few days, they would follow right behind her.
Still, it felt like a loss. Opal was sweet, she was comfortable, and she was his rock in this place. As incredible as this city was, it felt hollow without her.
Which is probably why he didn't realize that the sun finished its descent. The sky was now totally dark, glittering with the faint starlight. How much time had passed? What happened?
rrrrmm
That was what woke him from his stupor. The distant hum and soft rumble of the domes closing over the city.
Even once he was totally cut off from the night sky, Bolin continued staring through the impenetrable metal. Cut off from what he really wanted, but finally knowing who it was.
"Bo."
Mako? Mako! Bolin turned around just as his brother reached him, clasping the shoulder of the young earthbender from behind. "Oh, hey Mako," he noticed solemnly.
His older brother pursed his lips, fixing Bolin with a worried look.
Bolin turned back toward the same spot of the dome he was just staring at.
"Hey, cheer up, bro," Mako began. "We'll see her again soon."
Bolin brushed it off, barely hearing the firebender's words. The hand that clasped his shoulder hung there, but it wasn't a bridge.
"Come on!" Mako took on a tougher tone, perplexed with the younger brother's behavior. "You've known her for, what? A week? And you'll see her in another!"
Mako was right. He knew he was acting weird. Any other day, he would've been out tromping around with a big grin slapped across his face, finding all sorts of cool things to get up to in a place like this. And what, was he doing it again? Getting all wrapped up in some girl he hardly knew? He should've learned his lesson by now.
But something was different. Opal was different. She wasn't just some pretty girl who paid attention to him like Eska or Ginger. They bared their souls to each other. They were something else.
"You know, Bolin, you're a lot like Dad," Mako observed.
That was a new one. Bolin was so young when they died, he hardly knew their parents. And Mako? He never liked talking about them. So when he looked over his shoulder at his older brother, Bolin raise his eyebrow.
"Yeah!" Mako went on once he knew he caught Bolin's interest. "He used to tell me how he would fall head over heels for anyone… until he met Mom. Then everything changed. She changed him."
Bolin turned his whole body to his brother, brushing away the tear that welled in his eye. "'He would fall head over heels for anyone'?"
His brother smirked. "Yeah, not the best story to tell your kid now that I think about it, but it seemed really nice at the time."
A smile curled across Bolin's lips, and he stifled a laugh.
Then that feeling went away. He turned back away from the firebender, looking back toward the dome. This time, he wasn't looking at the metal, or at some airship far away, but beyond all that. "Tell me how it happened."
His parents told him the city never slept, but here it did. The street they walked on was lit only by the glow of the full moon above them, and the bustle of cars roaring around Republic City were distant, hardly audible above their footsteps. He should've been scared. He would've been scared. But his parents walked along either side of them, and they were invincible.
"Daaaad can't I have one NOW?" Mako whined. He looked up at his father with a toothy grin, pleading for one of the pastries he carried.
"Hey, little guy, if you start eating them now then we won't have any left for Bolin!" His father explained.
That was kinda the plan! Earlier that night he and Bo convinced their parents to make a quick run to Shu's. It wasn't often that they got any of these treats, but every now and then Shu would let them have whatever was left. And tonight they hit the motherload! Problem was, his share would get a lot smaller once they got back to their apartment.
"But Bolin told me he didn't want any!" He reasoned thoughtfully.
His mother chuckled. "Oh did he? Well, maybe I'll take them then!"
"NO!" Mako yelled. "I mean, don't you think we should share?"
He looked up and saw his parents staring into each other eyes, smirking as they continued walking toward their apartment. It was quite a ways away yet, but it was worth it for this stuff.
"Would you look at that?" His dad observed. "He CAN be taught!" He patted Mako's back with a soft slap, hugging him into his leg.
Then he felt a tug. His mom, still holding his left hand, froze in her tracks. He looked up, wondering what was taking her so long, when he saw something in her eyes that he never saw before: fear.
Not knowing what could possibly cause his mom to react like that, he followed her gaze toward the end of the block. A hooded figure stood there, and in its palm flickered a small flame. Big enough to notice, to know he was there, but too small to make out any real detail.
"Found you." It was a woman's voice.
"H-how…?" His father stammered. It was the first time Mako ever heard him waver.
His mother, however, took on a more defiant tone. "Get our son out of here."
"I'M NOT LEAVI—" His father began.
His voice cut off when her hand pressed into his chest. A hand that should assure him. "I can handle her. Just get Mako out of here. NOW!"
There was no discussion. No more room for hesitation. His father grabbed the back of his shirt, ushering him down the street they came from.
Mako glanced back in time to see another light. His mother's.
And then several more.
His eyes widened.
"COME ON!" His father screamed, pushing him faster.
He refocused on the terrain in front of him, and they darted down another street. Then another. He was panting, drained from running as long as he had, and his father knew it. They paused for a moment, and his father looked around. They stopped in front of a tunnel, one that led through the maze of apartments, and his father ushered him into it.
He fell to his knees, struggling to catch his breath. "Dad!" He cried. "Dad! What's going on?!"
His father took a knee, hunkering over the young firebender. "Don't go out there, Mako." He grasped both of the boy's shoulders, fixating his attention with a worried stare. "Stay here. We'll come back for you."
What? As his father stood, Mako processed what that meant. "P-please don't l-leave me. I'm sc-scared." He sniffed.
His father knelt back down in front of him. This time, instead of worry, it was a look of love that painted his face. "Tell you what," he said, placing a hand on his scarf. "Wear this, and it'll be like I'm right beside you."
He wrapped the scarf around the four year old's neck, fixing him with one last smile. "Close your eyes and count to a hundred." He instructed. "Your mom and I will be back in no time."
Mako nodded through the tears, wondering if this was one of those promises his dad couldn't keep.
An earth wall erected in front of him, blocking off the pathway, and Mako started counting. "1… 2…"
"They never came back," Mako winced.
Bolin never heard this story before. Of course, he knew what happened. He knew that it was a firebender. He knew that they were killed. But he never knew it like that. "Wow." The only sound he could muster.
Mako took a moment, fingers perched on the bridge of his nose. When he finally looked up again, he surprised Bolin. "That night changed me. Obviously. But for the better."
He raised an eyebrow at his older brother. How could anything good have come out of that night?
"When I finally picked myself up, I got to head home to my little brother," he explained. "I was just a little kid, barely knew how to tie my shoes, but I got to be there for him. I got to raise him. I got to take care of him." He paused. "We're closer than we ever would have been."
"So what?" Bolin didn't understand the point. "That makes it all okay?"
"Of course not!" He reached out to Bolin again, grabbing his shoulder. "What I'm saying is… sometimes life sucks. But all that means is that it WILL get better."
Somehow, Mako knew just what to say.
Notes from the author:
This chapter was initially meant to be part of a larger one, but I decided that it's tied together thematically in a perfect little bow. For that reason, this chapter's significantly shorter than most, but it's very dense. I hope you enjoyed!
The Mako/Bolin backstory is inspired in large part by Siquia's artwork (find it on DeviantArt). As much as I wanted to avoid adapting anyone else's work, once I saw it I couldn't imagine it any other way.
No, it's not fluff.