A.N. – It lives! Blame my 15th anniversary of joining the site for me deciding to restart this collection. As for the drabble itself, it's for Raxius, who gave me a prompt with one of my favorite one-off characters. How could I say no?
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Prompt: Revolution
Character: On Ji
Words: 500
Rating: K+
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The mood had subtly shifted after Kuzon had fled the dance party. School the next day was a study in subterfuge. Those that had been at the gathering last night were quietly approached by those who weren't, and as the information was disseminated, the buzz around the campus grew. The teachers knew something was afoot, but after the hullabaloo that was Kuzon's brief stay at their institution, whatever was brewing seemed minor in comparison.
Somehow, amidst all the students jockeying for details and trying to one-up each other with outrageous fallacies about the party and how it had concluded, On Ji became the go-to source for a factual account. It was this, more than anything, that underscored the change in dynamics in the hierarchy of the school. On Ji could not fire bend. She was not especially popular because of this, and her association with Hide had hurt her social standing more than helped.
But the truth was, On Ji had been the closest the Kuzon, he of the wild ideas and wilder antics. And like a breath of fresh air throughout the staid school, he'd brought vitality to a moribund populace. On Ji had, unknowingly, rode the swell of change as it swept through the building. Kuzon was impossible not to like, or at least be intrigued by. And his philosophy on their life…On Ji was moved. And he had danced with her, her!
In the light of the new day, On Ji had time to take a step back and reevaluate. She had no time to be a besotted little girl. Kuzon had basically laid down the gauntlet that the Fire Nation was rotting from within. She was a proud citizen of the most powerful nation in the world; so why did a couple of fleeting interactions with a stranger make her feel so off-kilter? On Ji decided, before heading off to class, that Kuzon's points were to be emulated.
She was only one person, but now she was a person with a modicum of power. Kuzon had merely set the spark to the kindling. Now it was up to On Ji to mind the inferno that was slowly smoldering in his wake. She was no bender, but she could corral this element and bend it to her will. Their future, as revolutionary as it sounded, might very well depend on it.
So she gladly told all who would listen, in corridors between lessons or in the yard during P.E., of the impassioned way Kuzon spoke, and the message he espoused. As the day wore on, her followers swelled in number. A wellspring of whispers, made all the more powerful by the fact that they were true. And that, really, was the number one lesson she would take away from Kuzon's time with them. The truth, as they had known it, was not trustworthy. Anyone could see that now, if they were just willing to broaden their outlook. On Ji had opened her eyes to the fire within.