NEW CHAPTER IN THE MIDST OF A HURRICANE! Decided to finish and upload this now before I lose internet for who knows how long!
Aria awoke to the sound of hushed voices.
"Wow, that's going to be quite the spectacle. I look forward to seeing this lot up there," Said one of the guards.
Aria lay still as she listened with her eyes closed, still not knowing how long she'd been asleep.
"Yeah. I almost feel sorry though, they're just kids, its not their fault they're benders," said another guard.
"Pshhh, the airbenders have always been the most problematic of the benders. There's gotta be a reason old Sozin went after them first, right?"
"You're right. Plus they're the easiest to exterminate completely, so that probably contributed to Amon going after the lot of them…"
"I'm going to go get breakfast, I'll be back in an hour,"
Aria opened her eyes as she heard one of the guards walking away. It appeared to be around dawn based on the small amount of light reaching the lower level they were being kept on.
She mimed yawning and stretching and noticed the guard straighten up out of the corner of her eye.
"What time is it?" She asked him plainly.
He frowned at her and didn't reply.
She sighed. If I'm going to get him to sympathize I've got to act as normal as possible.
"What's your name?" she tried again.
Silence.
"Do we get food?"
No reply.
Aria sighed once more. She crossed her legs and began to meditate.
Calm, be calm… yeah sure be calm as I sit in a prison awaiting a life without bending. Calm comes easy in moments like this. Ok, breathe…
The air around her began to rustle slightly. Aria opened her eyes to look at the guard. He hadn't noticed – yet.
If he notices, we'll all get a shock. Aria thought as she desperately tried to slow her heart rate and the air currents slowly circling around her.
The air stopped circulating and she let out a sigh of relief. She looked at the guard, who was now looking up the hallway.
He's probably about my age… I wonder why he joined the equalists…
"they're just kids…" What the guard had said while Aria was pretending to sleep ran through her mind. Maybe he has a kid sibling?
"Hey, I brought you some tea, Kamin, don't want you falling asleep on the job." Said the other guard as he came back down the hallway.
Aria resumed her meditation, focusing on trying not to let her anger manifest itself lest her cousins and uncle be reprimanded for her accidental bending.
The day passed slowly. They were brought a meal of rice and broth around midday. The kids stayed close to their mother and father. Aria remained in her place in the middle of the cell. The guards switched out from time to time, but as the last bits of daylight faded away, the boy called Kamin returned to guard the cell.
Making sure her family was asleep, Aria moved closer to the bars. She had to be sure not to provoke him at all – he held the button for the shock bands.
"Hey, you're Kamin, right?"
He glanced at her briefly, but remained silent.
"I'm Aria. I'm 17, how old are you?"
No reaction.
"I overheard what you said this morning. About my cousins. They are pretty young, Meelo's just four. And Rohan is barely a few days old."
Kamin looked at his hands, frowning.
"I just wish I could've protected them better. They could've gone another year or two without knowing just how cruel the world can be…" Aria said sadly, hoping it might strike a chord with Kamin – his tone that morning had made her think, did he have siblings? Did something unjust happen to them?
"So how old did you say you were?"
"M'not supposed to talk to you." He mumbled.
Aria smiled, "Well now you've broken that rule, huh? Might as well go with it, not like talking will change the situation I'm in here."
"I'm 15." Kamin said, finally looking at her.
"Have you got any family? You seem a bit young to be joining an army, no offense."
"No family left."
"There a reason for that?" Aria said, trying to find a soft spot.
He glared at her, "Benders."
Aria sighed and looked down, "Ah, well there's the reason you joined the Equalists I tiake it."
Kamin looked away.
She eyed him carefully, "You grew up on the streets didn't you? With siblings?"
He shifted uncomfortably but didn't say anything.
"Two of my closest friends grew up with nothing. Their parents were killed by a firebender," Aria said, thinking of her Bolin.
"What did they do about it?" Kamin asked quietly.
"They scrounged for food and trained non-stop and now they've got an apartment and food and friends and… girlfriends," Aria said.
Kamin sighed, "But how? How did they get so successful?"
"They never stopped. When they were kids they had to work for the gangs some times, but they always kept an eye out for each other and did their best… What about you?"
"You were right. I… I had a little sister, Meera. She died, six years ago. We'd been on the streets since our mom was killed by the Triple Threat Triads." Kamin said.
Aria scooted closer to the bars, "So you joined the Equalists for revenge?"
"Well… yeah I guess. But they gave me a roof over my head, three meals a day. And they taught me that I won't ever be less than anyone else just because I can't bend. Your friends made it to the top, I will to," Kamin said proudly.
"Hm," Aria said, "Those friends of mine? They're a firebender and an earthbender. So yes, you are right, you don't have bending but you are worth just as much as anyone else is in this world. I wish you luck. Make your sister proud." Aria smiled and pulled further back into the cell, away from Kamin, who was gaping at her.
As she curled up next to her cousins, she could hear Kamin's sighs.
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Dawn awoke Aria the next day but Kamin was not guarding their enclosure.
She attempted to keep her cousins calm with meditation, but all of them were anxious.
In the afternoon, the door to their cell creaked open suddenly. Equalist guards came in and grabbed all of them but Pema and Rohan.
"No! Let go!" Meelo screeched as he was flung over a guard's shoulder.
Aria was shaking silently – the moment she knew was inevitable once they'd been caught was here. Her stomach was doing flips.
The guards marched her to a platform. Somewhere she could hear a crowd cheering.
She could see Ikki holding back tears. Looking around, she spotted Kamin standing in line with other Equalist guards. She made eye contact with him, glanced at Ikki, then back to him. He looked away.
They chained Tenzin, Jinora, Ikki and Meelo to poles on another platform.
"Wait… why aren't you tying me up too?" Aria asked, even though she knew what it must mean.
The equalist guard holding her shoved her to her knees.
"Because you will be our first example," Amon said, stepping out from the shadows, "A bird's wings must be clipped before it can be tamed."
Aria felt a dizzy. She looked down, away from Amon's mask's taunting smirk.
"What? Afraid to face your savior? I am only cleansing you of an impurity – an imbalance that you were so unfortunate to have been born with. It was a shame that earthbender was able to catch you, but it seems fate has worked in my favor."
A group of equalist guards surrounded her, shielding her from view as the platform began to rise.
"Showtime." Amon whispered before turning to face the audience as they rose.
Well folks? Lemme know what you think! Oh my god I love you all so so so so much. Wanna know why? Go to the Legend of Korra Category. Select 'Bolin' as first character and 'Reviews' as sort by. This story is 6th of ALL Bolin fics. Do it again sorting by 'Favorites' – again 6th. Once more sorting by 'Follows' – THIS IS THE TOP BOLIN STORY FOR FOLLOWS. THIS IS WHY I LOVE YOU ALL! Thank you thank you thank you all so so so much for all your continued support. This is my first story to receive this kind of attention! I am so happy! I love you all so much! Remember, reviewers get a name mention! Here they are, the lovelies who review: Zane-Ice-Fairy, Mindcomplexity, izziesaurus, sunflower13, Kibalover3029, FloriBla23, ritapocahontas, silvermist1116, CourtingTheMoon, LOKandYJfan, Gem96, heartbeat7 and one mystery Guest. Thanks and I love you all! East-coasters, stay safe in this hurricane. Its pretty scary right now in DC but considering I'm on the same power grid as the White House I don't think I'm gonna lose power. But you never know! Later, babies!