the thief and the airbender
a connection
[role reversal au of Book 3, Chapter 4: In Harm's Way]
{for KorraKatniss4ever}
The air is dank, and cold, and musty, and Jinora feels horrible. If she had known this would happen if she had gone off on her own to practice (she could deny it all she wanted, but she had done it to try and impress Kai) she never would've done it. She only hopes Korra and Kai and the others will find her. They have to find her, right? But what if they don't? What then?
She's mulling it all over (torturing herself, really) when a bright, sudden flash of blue catches her eye. "K-Kai?" she stutters, blinking rapidly. She has to be seeing things.
"It worked!" the boy exclaims, smiling widely. But no, it really is Kai. Or at least a blue, spirit form of him... Wait. A lump forms in her throat. Oh no no no.
"How are you here right now?" she gasps.
He bends down to her level, leaning forwards. She does the same, and tries to ignore how close their faces are to each other. His smile only grows as he looks at her, relief and affection in his gaze. It sets off a flurry of butterflies in her stomach. "It's a high level airbending move, plus spirity powers," he explains. She lets out a large sigh of relief.
"Oh, good. For a second, I thought you were a ghost," she says, pushing the awful thought away.
"You're not getting rid of me that easy," he says, smiling cheekily. She rolls her eyes but she's grinning all the same. "I came to find you. We're gonna get you out of here... And the rest of the airbenders," he adds hastily. Heat rises to her cheeks. "Any idea on where you are?"
"I think I'm near the Earth Queen's palace," she offers, wishing she could be more helpful. "The Dai Li work for her, so it'd make sense they'd be nearby." Kai makes a noise of agreement in the back of his throat. Jinora shrugs. "Other than that, I don't really know."
His smile reappears in a flash. "Don't worry about it, we'll get you out. Sit tight Jinora." Then she realizes he's going to leave, and as crazy as it sounds, she doesn't want him to go. She doesn't want him to leave. She doesn't want to leave him. Because he cares about her.
"Kai!" He pauses, turning to look at her, slightly curious. Her face burns. "Thanks," she manages out, giving him a small smile. Kai seems to know what she's really trying to say, but can't quite manage.
"Anytime." With that, he floats out of the cell.
The cell is dank, and cold, and musty, but Jinora feels much better. (Especially when she pecks Kai on the cheek when he finds her, and a big dopey smile stretches across his face, and he's too preoccupied to see her blushing furiously.)
Happy Halloween you guys! My Halloween oneshot should be up sometime tonight, hopefully. "The thief and the airbender" community shall soon be the community with the most stories in it - crazy! Almost as crazy as this fic being at 323 reviews. (I love palindromes, parallels, framing and full circle-ness, btw). :)
I hope you guys all had a wonderful Halloween and a wonderful weekend! Love you guys. :3
