Over the course of the next week, Huvanni seemed to be adjusting rather well to life in the Fire Nation. After that particular night, Huvanni hadn't had any more "incidents," at least none to Koza's knowledge. The Air Bender had subsequently perked up after her initial break down, which was positive at the very least. She had become much more talkative with everyone- especially Koza- and had even taken to making a few good-spirited jokes at her expense. Koza didn't mind; that just meant Koza could retaliate with her own sense of humor.
For the first time in what seemed like, well, ever, Koza's household felt alive. Huvanni's sudden shift into ultra-high-spirits had managed to influence Fulay and Ojin, the latter of whom had even started to go out of his way to speak one-word sentences to his sister, a ground-breaking change. It usually involved simple phrases such as "the weather is nice today" or "I saw some merchants in town earlier," but it was still a massive step forward. Koza was incredibly grateful for Huvanni's influence on her family, although she still secretly wondered where this massive change even came from.
The night Koza had found her slumped lifelessly on the floor, sobbing for those that had so unfairly been taken from her, Koza knew she would never be able to offer any true comfort to the poor girl. No words of sympathy would even come close to easing the pain Huvanni was experiencing. The only thing she could even think to do was just stay close and be there for her. Make sure she didn't feel alone. Though Koza hadn't thought she did anything very helpful, Huvanni seemed to have a new appreciation for the Fire Bender that following day.
It was a fairly cloudy morning as Koza got ready for school; although specks of blue attempted to push past the white blanket that had shown up overnight, not even the sunlight had much success in getting through. This kind of formation was common for the time of year, though. The sky would most likely be cleared that afternoon.
Koza dressed herself like any other day- Uvi had washed her uniform last night, so the fabric felt clean and new- although she found herself silently humming a short tune that Huvanni had been singing a couple of days ago. The silly song got stuck in her head, it seemed. She wasn't necessarily mad about it.
"Mornin'!" A chipper voice called from the door. Koza smiled to herself, not even needing to turn around to know who it was.
"Hey, Vanni." Koza greeted the girl, spinning around while tying her hair back. Huvanni was already dressed in her uniform and her hair perfectly aligned in her own bun, following Koza's instructions perfectly. "Keep your voice down, you'll wake the whole neighborhood."
"Please, like anyone around here sleeps in during the week." She snickered. She stood in silence momentarily and watched Koza finish styling her hair.
"Do you want something?"
"Actually, yes," Huvanni said, smiling bashfully. "Tonight, right after dinner, I want you to sneak outside with me."
"What?" Koza asked with a raised eyebrow. Huvanni laughed.
"Hold on, that came out wrong. I meant that I want you to see something that's outside."
"That doesn't sound any better, you know. It makes it sound like I'm going to get kidnapped." Koza replied, though she was keeping her lips tightly together to stop from grinning.
"Okay, okay. What I'm trying to say is that I want to show you something really, really cool later. So will you join me?"
"Why can't we just go after school? Why do we have to sneak out for it?"
"Because it only happens at night. Just trust me on this one, okay? Please?" Huanni begged, giving her sad parrot-puppy eyes. Koza sighed reluctantly.
"Fine, fine. I'll go with you. But if my mom catches us, I'm blaming this whole nefarious plot on you, got it?" Koza asked, placing her hands on her hips. Huvanni nodded, her bun bouncing up and down as she did so. Koza lost the fight with herself and grinned at Huvanni's enthusiasm; it felt almost impossible not to.
"Great! If you're ready, let's go get breakfast." Huvanni said, her shoulders swaying to invisible music. She grabbed Koza's wrist and brought her down into the dining area, where Ojin was already seated. Oddly enough, his plate was completely untouched.
"There you are. I was waiting for you." He said, looking up at them as they descended from the staircase. He seemed to suddenly regret his choice of words and his face flushed a light crimson. "I-I, um, thought it was rude to start eating when you weren't here. When you both weren't here!" He sputtered, choking on his own words. Koza and Huvanni shared a confused look.
"Morning, girls! Did you sleep well?" Uvi's sing-song voice sounded as she poked her head out of the kitchen.
"Yes, Uvi, thank you." Huvanni beat Koza to the punch of answering. While they took their seats, Koza couldn't help but notice Ojin's gaze kept shifting onto Huvanni. He kept turning away before she could point it out, but something about this was sounding off alarm bells in her brain.
"Do you know where Fulay is? She's usually here to see us off." Huvanni commented as she started on her bowl of rice.
"Ah, Madame had a few important errands to do last night and said she'd be staying over a friend's house. She should return by the time you get home." Uvi answered kindly. Koza barely was able to hide a scoff.
"Codeword for she's sleeping with an Army Captain downtown." Koza leaned over and whispered into Huvanni's ear. Her eyes widened slightly, though her face remained neutral.
"Koza, don't whisper at the table. It's rude." Uvi scolded. Koza quickly leaned back.
"Sorry, Uvi."
"I do hope she finishes all her tasks before tomorrow. The Master would be quite unhappy if his wife was out all evening." Uvi continued rattling on as she dusted a bit of nearby furniture. Koza nearly choked on her juice.
"Father is coming home tomorrow?" She asked, appalled.
"Yes. Didn't Madame discuss this with you already?" Uvi asked, confused.
"No. She didn't." Koza replied, glaring daggers at Ojin who had found the ceiling to be quite interesting all of a sudden.
"Master Shio Kan was given a two-week leave in order to spend some time with his children before they graduated from the Academy," Uvi went on. "He should be taking a boat early tomorrow morning and returning home just before the evening. Oh, Huvanni, it is so nice that you'll finally be able to meet the Master. He takes great pride in his work. He's going to just want to talk your ear off!"
"Sounds… riveting." Huvanni said with all the enthusiasm of one of the potted plants nearby.
"Don't worry. Father isn't as frightening as you're imagining him to be," Ojin spoke up, still staring at the ceiling. "Treat him respectfully and you'll be fine. But... if you want me to step in and get his attention off of you, I'll do it."
"...Thanks, Ojin, I appreciate that." Huvanni replied curtly. Koza watched as Ojin's face turned a bright red again and tensed.
"We should get going now. Don't want to be late, you know?" Koza said a bit louder than she had intended to. She hurried the other two along, bid a hasty farewell to Uvi, and practically pushed them all outside.
"Watch it." Ojin warned as he clambered into the carriage. Huvanni glanced at Koza curiously and followed suit.
The carriage ride was reminiscent of the old days before Huvanni entered their lives: Silent and discomforting. Huvanni sat besides Koza just as she always did, an action that appeared to bother Ojin severely today. Koza couldn't care any less about how he felt.
Koza's uncharacteristic bout of irritation was cut prematurely the second the carriage arrived at the Academy. There, they found students standing gingerly to themselves, clearly scattered in an attempt to keep away from one another. Only the occasional shared whisper from a duo of friends came even close to breaking the eerie silence.
"What's going on?" Huvanni asked as they clambered off of the carriage.
"I… don't know," Koza replied as Ojin roughly shoved passed her. "I've never seen this before." She searched through the crowd before she spotted Min standing close near the shrubbery, looking quite uneasy.
"Min!" She called his name and approached with Huvanni close behind her. The boy looked up and relief washed over his face.
"Koza, oh thank the Spirits…"
"Min, what's going on? Why is everyone acting weird?" Koza asked.
"You didn't hear? Jeez, do your parents tell you anything? Oh, hi Huvanni." He said, momentarily losing focus to greet the girl. Huvanni waved.
"No, they don't. So?"
"Do you remember last week when Fire Lord Sozin sent out troops to dismantle the Air Bender military?" Koza couldn't help herself and glanced alarmingly at Huvanni. The girl stood motionless, her face a blank slate. "Well, the result of what happened finally got out last night. Apparently, the Air Benders were way more prepared than anyone ever expected them to be. Every single Air Bender fought back, even those not a part of the military.
"It was an absolute massacre. Even though our troops were there to simply dismantle power, those so-called "pacifists" were killing as many as they could. Our soldiers were battling for their very lives. In order to save each other, the Fire Benders had no choice but to fight an eye for an eye. All four Air Temples were completely exterminated. Luckily we had numbers on our side, otherwise we would've been destroyed. It's horrible that it came to that extreme, of course, but they were left with no choice." Min said in such nonchalant tone that Koza wanted to punch him in the jaw.
"So there's just no more Air Benders? They're just wiped clean from existence? Surely that will disravel the world as we know it!" Koza shouted.
"Why does it matter? The Air Benders never did anything for anybody else. Never participated in trades or world affairs, nothing. They committed a heinous crime and then tried to take the Fire Bender Army down with them. Good riddance, I say." Min scoffed. Koza saw Huvanni's shoulders tighten out of the corner of her eye.
"And what about the Avatar? Did they kill him, too?"
"Nobody knows. Rumor has it that he managed to flee right before the Fire Nation arrived. What a coward, running away just to save his own skin…" Min tutted. "But that's why everyone's on edge. If the Avatar managed to escape, there's a possibility he could be hiding in the shadows somewhere, plotting his revenge against the Fire Nation. Or whose to say more Air Benders didn't escape and are hiding out somewhere?" Koza's blood ran cold. "That's why everyone's sticking to themselves. They're all paranoid there might be an Air Bender hiding out among us."
"Please. Like anyone besides the Avatar would be able to escape the Fire Nation's fury." Koza was surprised to hear Huvanni speak. She stared darkly at Min, her eyes clouded with an emotion Koza had never seen before. "The Fire Nation is ruthless. They would never let even a single Air Bender escape. If the Avatar did get away, they'll track him down within a few days."
"Yeah, I suppose that's true." Min said, looking at her questioningly.
"W-well, this is a big deal. A very big deal. I hope Fire Lord Sozin is prepared to face the consequences of this. I mean, how is he going to explain this to the Water Tribes or the Earth King that an entire Element is just gone?" Koza spat.
"The Fire Nation already has valuable colonies on the shores of the Earth Kingdom. I don't think the Earth King will have anything to say about Fire Nation affairs." Min said with an arrogant smirk. The sound of a gong rang through the yard, and all of the students began trickling inside the building. "School time. See you later, girls." Min waved and joined into the line of sheep, leaving Koza and Huvanni alone.
"Vanni-" Koza began, but Huvanni waved her hand to cut her off.
"Don't. I'm okay, really," She said with a half-hearted smile. "I told you so." Koza's heart sank.
"You don't have to pretend to be alright." Koza said earnestly, grabbing hold of Huvanni's hands.
"And you don't have to be solely responsible for my well-being," she replied gently. "I've said it a million times already, I don't blame the students or the citizens or-or even the soldiers for any of this! It's the Fire Lord that's at fault here. His alone, and there's nothing we can do about him. And that's okay."
"But it's not okay!" Koza felt her throat beginning to burn as she held back tears. "This isn't right! They shouldn't think of you as an enemy!"
"But they do. Because of lies they were forced to hear. The two of us can't change that. But the fact that even one person, one incredible and kind person is on my side is more than enough for me. Right, Koza?" She asked. Koza nodded slowly, unable to formulate even a single word. "Let's get to class."
Koza's burning throat stayed with her for the rest of the day and even on the carriage ride home. The entire day was just a headache-filled blur filled with snippets of her teacher's saying words she didn't understand nor care about. She couldn't even bring herself to eat dinner that night, something her mother didn't take very kindly to.
"It's such a waste. There are starving children out there who would love to have a home-cooked meal." Fulay mocked after the third failed attempt to get Koza to eat. Then give it to them, Koza thought miserably. She slumped in her chair and stared down at the beautiful meal that had been prepared for her, ignoring the uncomfortable tension that she had created at the table. She wanted to eat even a little bit, just to get Fulay off of her back, but her stomach was twisted into nauseating knots.
"Uvi, I'm finished. Koza, why don't we go upstairs and talk for a bit." Huvanni said, handing her cleaned plate to Uvi.
"Oh, please Huvanni. Maybe you can knock some sense into that girl," Fulay sighed, rubbing her temples. "I don't know what's gotten into you today, Koza, but I didn't raise you to act like a spoiled brat."
"You didn't raise me at all." Koza muttered, accidentally saying her thoughts out loud.
"What was that?!"
"Nothing, ma'am." Koza said quickly, escaping upstairs with Huvanni before she got even more upset. The Air Bender silently brought Koza into her room and quietly closed the door, then headed towards the window.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were more upset about my people being murdered than I am." She finally spoke, glancing at Koza over her shoulder as she opened her window.
"I know, I'm sorry-"
"I didn't mean it as a bad thing. I just hate seeing you so worked up like this," Huvanni continued. "And, you know the other night when I was… upset, you were there for me without hesitation. I'm so thankful for that. So I want to repay the favor." Koza watched as she carefully climbed out of the window and onto the edge of the roof. She jumped straight up, as if the wind itself had pulled her, and vanished from sight. Any other person would be alarmed at the sight, but Koza knew her far too well at that point. "Coming?" Huvanni's teasing voice sounded from above. Koza hesitated for only a second before clambering out the window after her, holding on tight to the wall so she didn't slip. She stepped onto the roof tiles of the first floor, her legs quivering from under her at the lack of balance. Koza turned her head up to look at the top roof of her house, a familiar face peering down at her.
"Here, grab my hand and I'll-" Huvanni began, but was taken aback when Koza suddenly leapt up from below, boosted up by a mass of orange fire swirling around her legs. She landed gracefully right next to her, her eyes gleaming ever so slightly with mischief.
"Didn't think I could do it on my own?" She taunted playfully.
"Your words, not mine." Huvanni snorted. Koza looked around at the sky view of her neighborhood, a maze of luxurious towers and lights that stretched on for miles. She had never seen them at this angle before. It was almost pretty.
"So, you've got me curious now. How is being on top of my roof going to be comforting?" Koza asked, kneeling down.
"Like this." Huvanni knelt down as well and pointed up. Koza followed her gesture and audibly gasped.
The blackened night sky was dotted in millions of bright white stars, more than Koza had ever seen before; small balls that twinkled and shone from great distances away nearly covered the spreading black. However, the most amazing thing was that plenty of the stars were in visible movement, racing through the endless sky as if some great Spirit was throwing them across the horizon.
"Meteor shower," Huvanni explained, smiling at Koza's awe. "There's one every four years, give or take. I remembered the Nuns discussing that the one this year would be tonight, just by chance. I didn't think it'd be very fun to watch it alone."
"Wow… thank you. I've never seen anything like this." Koza whispered, prying her eyes from the incredible sight just long enough to look at Huvanni.
In the light of the moon and the stars, she truly looked like she was glowing- just as she had on the night that they met. She had long released her tight bun and allowed her hair to flow down freely, spilling all over her shoulders. Her stormy eyes twinkled just as much as the stars did, Koza thought. She really was one of, if not the most beautiful person Koza had ever seen. And she looked so… so happy. But how? How could she smile and enjoy herself even after a day like today?
"I'm so glad I get to spend this time with you." Huvanni said without averting her gaze from the sky. So that was how. Because Koza was with her. The thought made her heart skip a beat. The fact that Huvanni wanted to spend as much time with Koza as she did with her, it made her happier than she had ever felt before. Nothing had even come close to her. Being with Huvanni… it just made her feel alive..!
Oh no.