Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender in any shape or form.
It was not long before they arrived at the next island. As usual, they set up camp away from the main city where it was easier to hide the large sky bison and save on their travel expenses. Ameya did not mind being outdoors; she spent most of her life surviving off of nature. Only this time, she wasn't alone.
Ameya was untying Appa's saddle when Sokka decided to call her away, his blue eyes darting around to look at anything but her. She followed him quietly; Ameya had long since forgiven him for his allegation the day before but she knew she should not be reckless anymore. She was not traveling alone any longer, there are others relying on her too.
So while she did understand Sokka's anger, she can't help but close within herself more.
"Okay so I did a lot of thinking and I really regret what I said back there—it's just I was worried we were behind schedule and Katara could have injured herself and I was trying to look out for her and I didn't realize too late she had been feeding Appa purple berries but seriously where did she even find them?!"
"Sok—"
"And don't get me started on the village! Dock—or Xu—or Bushi—I don't know anymore! That crazy old man is clearly out of his mind I—"
"Sokka, I understand."
He paused on his rant, his arms half raised in explanation. Sokka studied her almost bashfully but Ameya had a calm look on her face, an eyebrow arched in his direction.
"Uh…"
"You were only looking out for the group's best interest. It was my fault for keeping quiet the whole time; I even encouraged it. I won't do anything that may hinder the invasion," she offered a small smile then, "I'm sorry."
Sokka blinked, standing up taller to counter his previous flustered state. "Uh—yeah, me too. I mean—we never doubted you in the first place. Thank you—for looking out for my sister too."
There was that twist in her gut again but she brushed it off, smiling softly.
"Anytime. Let's go back to the group, they might be getting worried."
Ameya walked back first, leaving Sokka behind confused. He wondered why her smiles felt so empty again, why she looked so distant and detached while walking away from him. He glanced upwards to see the moon above, silently begging Yue for some guidance.
The Moon Spirit did not answer his calls; just like his previous attempts before.
Aang, Katara, and Toph did not question their conversation, inviting them to the rock they were laying on to stare at the stars above.
"We just saw a shooting star just now! There might be more!" Aang greeted happily at their arrival.
Ameya took the spot next to Toph and Sokka settled down next to Katara. Their eyes were focused on the night sky and another streak of light flashed by them.
"It's a meteor shower," Ameya confirmed in quiet amazement.
The streak of lights turned into dozens, lighting up the night sky even more. Ameya cannot recall the last time she experienced sight a magnificent sight, the only time she had seen something as beautiful was back in the North Pole icy waters…on a lone raft with—
"Wow, this is amazing to watch," Katara whispered in astonishment.
"Kind of makes you realize how insignificant we are," Sokka murmured, all focused on the beautiful view.
"Eh, you've seen nothing once, you've seen it a thousand times," Toph shrugged.
Ameya glanced beside her, slightly pitying the blind girl. Toph did not appear to be too troubled with it though; there was nothing to pity for something she never had.
She turned back to the meteor shower. There was no point in dwelling over past mistakes and Ameya should take the time to enjoy the present—at least cherish the current moment now for those who can't. It really did make her feel insignificant and small under the vast night sky but also, exhilarating.
"Oh man, you've never not seen anything like this," Sokka exclaimed in disbelief.
Their eyes widen when a meteor flew directly above them, brushing past their campsite and leaving behind an icy gust of wind in its wake. There was an explosion a few seconds later, the meteor crashing just a few hills away. They stood up hastily, mounting Appa without another word and flew to the direction of the landing.
"The fire is gonna destroy that town!" Katara noted as soon as they saw the fiery rock dangerously close to the nearby town.
"Not if we can stop it!" Aang jumped off with Sokka and Toph as soon as Appa landed.
"There's a creek over here," Ameya pointed nearby and Katara took upon the bison's reins.
"We'll bend the water onto the fire," Katara snapped the reins and Appa took off with the two waterbenders.
They swooped down close to the water, both bending a huge amount of water along the way to bring towards their side of fire. It rained down on the meteorite quickly, extinguishing parts of the flames as Appa flew on by. Ameya briefly noticed Toph and Aang to earthbend a trench and surrounding rocks to smother the fire.
Appa brought them by the creek again and with another dome of water, Katara and Ameya delivered the water to Aang. The Avatar combined both waterbending and airbending together, expanding the water to the full extent of the fire and efficiently extinguished the flames. It exploded in powdery snow, falling gently over the meteorite with Sokka buried right under.
"Good work, everybody," Aang praised, dusting off his hands with a smile.
Sokka emerged from the pile of snow, a frown evident on his face. He said nothing when they flew back to camp, crawling into his sleeping bag sullenly. Ameya watched curiously but offered no consolation, retreating back to her spot next to Appa for rest.
They ventured into town the next day for a nice meal. The restaurant they visited had an outside sitting area overlooking the rest of the town. It was a peaceful time and Ameya welcomed the light breeze of the summer air.
"These people have no idea how close they were to getting toasted last night," Aang said quietly, sitting down on the table with his tray of food.
"Yeah, the worst thing about being in disguise is that we don't get the hero worship anymore. I miss the love," Toph sighed.
Ameya took a sip of her lukewarm tea; it's not as great as Iroh's.
She flinched at those thoughts, biting into her bread to satisfy her hungry stomach. It wasn't often for her to go out of the way to help others and she never received the 'hero worship' treatment as Toph mentioned before. She was content with staying hidden in plain sight.
"Boo-hoo," Sokka cried out sarcastically from his position away from the table, his back facing them, "poor heroes."
They stared at him curiously. "What's your problem? You haven't even touched your smoked sea slug," Katara pointed out.
"It's just, all you guys can do this awesome bending stuff like putting out forest fires, and flying around and making other stuff fly around. I can't fly around, okay? I can't do anything," Sokka sighed.
They glanced at each other and Ameya realized this was what must be troubling the Water Tribe boy the whole night. He did appear less enthusiastic all morning; was that what was bothering him?
"That's not true. No one can read a map like you," Katara assured.
"I can't read at all!" Toph joked.
"Yeah, and who keeps us laughing with sarcastic comments all the time? I mean, look at Katara's hair, right? What's up with that?" Aang attempted, picking up a strand of her dark curls.
Katara flushed, shrinking into herself and touching her hair self-consciously.
"What? What's wrong with my hair?"
Aang froze, "Nothing. I was just trying to…"
Ameya shook her head, looks like the Avatar need to master his flirting lessons after the war.
"Look, I appreciate the effort," they turned back to Sokka's sullen voice, "but the fact is each of you is so amazing and so special and I'm...not. I'm just the guy in the group who's regular."
Her eyes softened at his hunched back. It must feel a bit overwhelming traveling with the master of all four elements, the first metalbender, and a waterbending master at the same time. But Sokka has remarkable skills too—he just couldn't see it himself.
Ameya opened her mouth to say something but Katara beat her to it, standing up to approach her brother.
"I'm sorry you're feeling so down but I hope you know none of us see you that way." The three of them nodded behind her, "I know something that's going to make you feel better."
Sokka glanced at Katara with a pout, "You do?"
They quickly finished their meal and wandered around the village soon after. Katara led them to an armory filled with weapons and armor for purchase. Sokka immediately lit up at the sight, clapping his hands in excitement and began to run around the store like a little kid.
Ameya wandered around, looking at the shiny metal and sharp weapons with half interest. She glanced over at Sokka occasionally, seeing him playing with a variety of weapons such as nunchucks and maces and hoped he wouldn't hurt himself. Further away, Aang was dressing up in a ridiculous amount of armor, showing off to Katara in fascination.
She shook her head, heading towards the wall where swords were mounted on for display. She wondered if she should get her own weapon as well, Ameya did not take any with her from the cruiser when they left. There was no need to carry around a weapon when she was a proficient waterbender now but…they are in the Fire Nation. Maybe she should stop hiding her abilities and pick something practical.
The pearl dagger was in the corner of her mind, a small itch she cannot ignore and Ameya turned away.
"Ooooh! What are you looking at, Ameya?" Sokka ran over to her and Ameya blinked in confusion. "Now that's what Sokka's talking about!"
She turned back to the wall to see a beautifully crafted sheath she had stopped in front of. Huh, Ameya hadn't realized the marksmanship until now.
"You have a good eye. That's an original from Piandao, the greatest swordsmaster and sword maker in Fire Nation history. He lives in the big castle up the road from here," the storekeeper explained briefly before walking away to clean up the mess Sokka left behind.
"That's it! That's what you needed all along, Sokka," Aang realized as the rest of the group joined up with them.
"A sword?" Sokka questioned.
"Not the sword, a master. We've all had masters to help us get better. You should see if you can study with Piandao," Aang suggested.
"That's a great idea. I could've never gotten to where I am without Master Pakku. Everyone needs a teacher," Katara supported.
"I learned from badgermoles. They don't talk, but they're still good teachers," Toph smiled fondly.
Ameya nodded her head. "We haven't trained in a while but it wouldn't hurt to learn from a real master."
Sokka smiled, pulling out the sharp blade from its sheath. "It would be nice to be a master swordfighter. All right, I'll talk to him." He turned to Ameya then, "Do you want to come along? Maybe you can learn a thing or two too!"
Her gaze softened at his consideration but shook her head. "You need the training more than I do," she teased lightly and Sokka gaped at her.
Aang, Katara, and Toph snickered at her remark and Sokka huffed before announcing his leave. He was happier though, excited to possibly learn something new and headed towards the castle away from the village.
The rest of them walked around a bit more, studying the shops with half interest. As time went by, the shops became less apparent and they arrived at what appeared to be the poorer part of the town. There were fewer people along the streets but they paid no mind to it, chatting quietly amongst themselves.
Ameya studied the others from under her long lashes, noticing a man walking straight into their path. Katara moved to step away from him but they bumped shoulders regardless. Katara apologized sheepishly and the other man shrugged her off. Aang frowned but they let it go, continuing their chat once more.
Before the man walked by her, Ameya's hand shot out to grip his, startling the larger man and his dull eyes narrowed dangerously at hers.
"I think you took something of ours."
Aang and Katara stopped talking, looking back at the reason why Ameya and Toph had stopped walking. There was a mocking smile on the older girl's lips; her hand squeezed the strange man's tightly.
"You're mistaken," he muttered with a frown, shaking his hand.
"What's going on?" Aang asked curiously.
Ameya said nothing more but her grip loosened and in a second, her free hand darted out to the hidden pocket the man hid under his clothes. She pulled out a red coin purse and Katara's eyes widen, recognizing it to be hers and searched her pockets.
"That's mine!" she exclaimed once she realized her own pouch was missing.
The man tensed and Ameya let him go, icy eyes narrowing against his lowly. "You picked the wrong targets this time. You better go."
He heard the threat clearly and began to walk away with angry steps. His wrist tingled coldly even though the young woman's hold had disappeared. He sneered at her, eyes glaring and fuming but Ameya stared on impassively, tossing the pouch back to Katara and crossed her arms. She surveyed a few onlookers, frowning at their own narrowed eyes and began to lead the group.
"Woah, Ameya, how did you know?" Aang asked with excited wide eyes.
She glanced at him and offered a small smile, malice gone from her features. "Instinct."
There was no way she could say she learned from experience or admit to doing the same before. There was still the thief within her, recognizing the signs of other thieves and knew when the opportunity to steal was apparent. Katara and Aang were easy targets; they were too lax and trusting with others. Ameya walked confidently down the street; no one would dare to try anything with her around.
That much, she can do.
It was around noon when they arrived back at camp. Aang and Toph immediately lay down in the middle of the campgrounds, exhausted from the walk and hot day. Katara and Ameya went to the small hut the earthbenders created previously, setting their belongings away.
"Ah, put this away too."
Ameya tossed a small pouch in Katara's direction. The younger girl caught it curiously, opening the bag to reveal a dozen silver coins within.
"Is this yours?" Katara doesn't remember Ameya carrying this before.
The side of her pale lips lifted up and Ameya turned away. "Let's say it was a gift."
She walked away from the hut, leaving Katara to ponder their new currency. The image of the burly man from before appeared in her mind and Katara wondered why she thought up of him then.
The hours passed by painfully slow for the young travelers. Katara had joined Aang and Toph in lying on the ground motionlessly, doing nothing but staring at the passing clouds in the sky. Ameya opt to staying in the shade but there was not much for them to do.
Aang attempted to suggest for something to do but nothing came to mind for all of them. Ameya didn't realize the full extent of Sokka's role until now; the benders were clueless without him. He had been the one to set the schedule for them, he had been the one to lead them to the next island, and he had been the one to fill the silence with his corny jokes and bright personality.
No wonder Yue fell in love, Ameya hummed, closing her eyes to rest.
Sokka has been a reliable person, a trustworthy friend, a caring brother and a dependable leader. It was surprising to hear how little he considered himself within the group—just because he did not have any bending abilities like them. She made a mental note to talk to him again afterwards.
They were reviewing a map—or rather, failing to read the map when Sokka returned. They had almost fallen asleep waiting but Toph's seismic senses noticed his arrival before any of them.
"Sokka's coming!" Toph bolted upwards; Katara and Aang following immediately.
Sokka appeared from the lone hill, a small smile at the sight of all of them and waved. "Hey, guys. What are you doing ?"
The three of them tackled him immediately into a hug and Ameya followed a few steps behind. He arched a brow at the sudden affection, turning to the only one who didn't envelop him in a hug.
"Did I miss something?"
Ameya smiled, "Only yourself."
His brows knitted together in confusion but shrugged, returning the hug to the three regardless.
"Sokka!"
"You're back!"
"We missed you so much!" Katara grinned.
Aang pulled away. "Say something funny!"
Sokka arched a brow, "Funny how?"
Ameya shook her head as Aang and Katara laughed wholeheartedly. Toph took a step back, crossing her arms with a satisfied smile on her face.
"What's their deal ?" He questioned again, turning to Toph and Ameya.
Toph turned away. "I don't know. They missed you or something. I didn't care."
Ameya caught onto her rosy cheeks and resisted the urge to laugh at her dishonesty. She decided to keep that to herself, ruffling the earthbender's hair affectionately.
"Thanks. That warms my heart," Sokka replied almost sarcastically. "Anyway, I need some help."
Sokka briefly explained to them about crafting his own sword. He wanted to use the meteorite from the previous night to forge and they happily obliged. Toph did majority of the work by earthbending the large rock while the rest of them pushed.
It took a while but they arrived at the mansion soon enough. Sokka immediately swings the door knockers quickly and it opened within a second. An older man stood by the door, his dark hair tied up in traditional Fire Nation topknot while wearing a brown cheongsam. He studied the four newcomers with an arched brow.
"Who's this?"
"Oh, these are my friends. Just other good Fire Nation folks." Sokka introduced and they bowed their head respectfully, "Do you think we can make a sword out of a meteorite ?"
The swordsmaster set a hand over the meteorite in contemplation.
"We'll make a sword unlike any other in the world."
It took the whole night for them to create the sword. Sokka and Piandao were mainly the ones crafting the weapon but Aang, Katara, and Ameya would peek within the forge once in a while, curious of the process. They stayed in the castle that night, Piandao were kind enough to allow them to rest, and when morning came, Sokka's sword was complete.
"Sokka, when you first arrived, you were so unsure. You even seemed down on yourself. But I saw something in you right away. I saw a heart as strong as a lion turtle, and twice as big. And as we trained, it wasn't your skills that impressed me. No, it certainly wasn't your skills."
Piandao began with no hesitation, standing in front of his pupil with the newly crafted meteorite sword in hand. He was definitely not holding back on his words, Ameya thought.
"You showed something beyond that. Creativity, versatility, intelligence...these are the traits that define a great swordsman. And these are the traits that define you. You told me you didn't know if you were worthy but I believe that you are more worthy than any man I have ever trained." Piandao offered the sword to Sokka and he took it slowly.
She smiled. Maybe Sokka would believe the words of a master to accept his self-worth. They could not see his face but hoped this would boost Sokka's morale.
"I'm sorry, Master. You're wrong. I am not worthy. I'm not who you think I am. I'm not from the Fire Nation. I'm from the Southern Water Tribe." Aang, Katara, and Toph gawked at him while Ameya frowned, "I lied so that I could learn swordsmanship from you. I'm sorry."
Sokka presented the sword back to the swordmaster but he turned away, a frown on his aged face.
"I'm sorry, too."
In the next second, Piandao twirled around to swing his own sword at the kneeling man. Sokka barely missed the attack, rising to his feet and intercepting another swing with his newly crafted sword. They rose to their feet immediately, readying themselves in a battle stance but Sokka held them back.
"No, this is my fight, alone."
They moved the battle outside in the backyard. Sokka and Piandao were in their battle stances, swords raised for attack. Piandao made the first move, striking and poking at Sokka while he could merely parry or defended the blows successfully. He saw an opening to attack but missed and the older man pushed him backwards, causing Sokka to fall to the ground.
Piandao barely looked like he broke a sweat chasing Sokka around the backyard. From the bridge to the stairs, and through the bamboo garden, the master was praising his pupil at every chance. Ameya watched with wide eyes, Piandao was teaching Sokka—just like how Xiao had done for her before.
She blinked, wondering why she was thinking of her old master now while focusing on the fight in front of her. It was because they were weapon specialists, she reasoned, that was why Xiao had appeared in her mind.
Sokka was running around frantically, dodging the sword aimed at his neck level and he swooped down to aim a kick at the older man's legs. Piandao faltered and Sokka ran his sword into the ground, flinging dirt into the master's direction and blinded him temporarily. Ameya's watched on intently—that was her move, if only briefly, Sokka had incorporated her move to his attack.
For a moment, it almost appeared like the young man had the advantage. But Sokka made a mistake and accidentally stepped on a twig, causing Piandao to attack in his direction instead. Their swords clashed and it swirled around a few times before the experienced master swung it away, leaving Sokka defenseless. Sokka jumped out of the way the moment Piandao swung his sword again, hitting the ground with a loud thud and staring at the sharp weapon aimed in his direction.
Aang, Katara, and Toph immediately jumped down, ready to defend Sokka but Ameya stayed back. She observed the situation carefully; Piandao did not look like he wanted to hurt him.
"Excellent work, Sokka."
They looked at him confused. Piandao motioned for Fat to toss the scabbard towards him and he sheathed the sword with grace.
"I think I'm a little old to be fighting the Avatar."
The benders lowered their stance, confusion evident on their face. Ameya leaned on the railing curiously, waiting.
"How did you know?" Aang inquired.
"Oh, I've been around a while. You pick things up. Of course, I knew from the beginning that Sokka was Water Tribe. You might want to think of a better Fire Nation cover name. Try 'Lee'. There's a million 'Lees'." The master wiped the dirt from his eyes with the towel his servant provided.
Ameya froze. Why must he mention that name now? Her hands gripped the railing tighter, barely focusing on the others and instead saw her hands shaking against her control.
Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. Forget, forget, just—stop—move on.
"But why would you agree to train someone from the Water Tribe ?" Katara asked, all oblivious of the older girl's discomfort.
"The way of the sword doesn't belong to any one nation. Knowledge of the arts belongs to us all."
Piandao continued, picking up the beautiful black sword and offered it to Sokka once more.
"Sokka, you must continue your training on your own. If you stay on this path, I know that one day you will become an even greater master than I am." He paused just then, glancing at the lone woman who was not even listening to them anymore. "And it looks like you had previous training before. You should continue with her, both of you will continue to improve with the right partner."
They focused on the person Piandao was currently looking at and Ameya snapped out of her daze. She blinked, noticing several pairs of eyes on her and realized what Piandao had just said.
"I'm not…that great," she finally answered, pushing away her memories again and tried to regain her composure. "But I'll do what I can."
Piandao nodded. "You and Sokka will do just fine, Ameya."
He turned back to Sokka, a kind smile on his aged face. The two bowed to each other respectfully and the others watched on with their own smile on their lips.
It wasn't long before they left the estate. They packed their belongings and after a brief parting to Piandao, they set off. But before they even stepped more than six steps away from the door, Fat called out to them.
"Wait!" They turned towards him curiously. "The Master wanted you to have this, as something to remember him by."
Sokka took upon the small bag and Fat closed the door behind him quickly. They watched with interest as Sokka opened up the bag and pulled out a small, circular tile.
"It's a Pai Sho tile," Sokka stated.
"The White Lotus. Huh." Aang confirmed.
"What does it mean?" Katara questioned.
"You'll find allies in unexpected place."
Ameya's eyes widen, frozen in shock at the familiar tile. She had forgotten hers long ago—probably lost it somewhere along the way but now that she sees it again; she cannot let this chance go to waste.
"You guys go ahead. I have something I must do."
They stared at her curiously but she turned away, staring at the Fire Nation symbol surrounded by white petals. How had she not realized sooner? The door was almost a replica of the tile in Sokka's hand. Piandao knew her name too—but she never gave it away.
The rest of them began to slowly walk away, leaving Ameya to stand alone by the door. Once she was certain they were out of range, she began to pound the knockers furiously. No one answered her calls and she frowned, glaring at the red door.
She glanced around, spotting a large tree nearby and climbed on. The nearest branch she could reach was just hovering over the wall surrounding castle and she hopped in gracefully. No one was beyond the walls but Ameya began her search regardless, running through the garden then back to the sparring ring Sokka had been in.
Piandao had his back to her, a brush in one hand and a blank parchment before him.
"You knew Master Xiao."
He did not even spare her a glance, setting his brush on the paper for a clean stroke.
"Quite slow on the uptake, aren't you?"
Ameya frowned. "How did you know?"
"Your friends said your name the night prior. I didn't make the connection until Sokka's movement earlier resembled someone I know. Tell me, how is the old man doing?" His dark eyes set upon hers, noticing her clenched fist and waited.
"He's gone," she looked down, "The Fire Nation took him."
Piandao faltered. "He was an old rival of mine. Both of us strained to best each other in the way of the sword. I preferred precision and accuracy while he favored agility and mobility. I'm surprised he took you as a pupil; he never had one before."
Ameya bit her lip, fighting back the tears. Piandao knew Xiao—he was her link to her old master. She was never able to speak of her old master to anyone before—never found the allies they spoke so highly of. But Piandao knew and despite his proclamation of being rivals, there was a fond tone in his voice at the mention of Xiao.
She closed her eyes, feeling herself washed by the sadness of her younger self.
Piandao stood up, his calligraphy forgotten and stood in front of the waterbender. "Well, let's see how much you've learned."
Her eyes widen when a short sword was tossed at her, blinking the tears away from her eyes and caught onto the black scabbard. Piandao stood in a familiar stance, his arm arched and sword raised in her direction.
"Don't let his teaching go to waste."
Ameya breathed deeply, closing her eyes once more and unsheathed the sword. She dropped the scabbard besides her, taking her own stance and icy blue eyes opened in determination.
The two danced around each other. They parried and block each other's blows, maneuvering around the other with sharp grace. Piandao nodded to himself approvingly, dodging the girl's relentless attack and countered with his own.
Xiao had trained her well, he thought silently, parrying another strike. She stood her ground against him better than Sokka had but Piandao was not fighting to his fullest. He was testing her but even then; he had to admit she was pressuring him successfully.
In the final moment, they stood with their swords aimed near each other. It was a standstill, neither of them appearing victorious but there was no killer intent from either. Piandao lowered his sword first and Ameya followed wordlessly, breathless from the intense fight while the master barely looked shaken.
"Xiao would be proud."
She blinked, feeling a surge of emotions washing over her once more. The tears she tried so hard to ignore were flowing again and the memories she repressed danced around in her mind. Ameya bowed her head respectfully, closing her eyes and letting the tears fall once more.
"Of course. I'm his favorite student."
Despite her tears and uncontrollable sadness, Ameya smiled at Piandao. For once, she can confide in someone about her old mentors—she can finally release her pent up emotions from three years ago. Even if she mourned in the past, she never received the closure or comfort from someone who knew Xiao and Lu Jie as well.
"You're his only student," Piandao reinstated but his eyes were soft on her tears and his hand reached out to pat her head.
She cried for a few more moments, slightly embarrassed to show her weakness in front of a stranger. But Piandao had been kind and thoughtful; averting his gaze to polishing the short sword Ameya had used. When she had finally calmed down again, she brushed the tearstains from her cheeks and stood up taller.
"Keep this."
Ameya blinked, staring at the black and gold scabbard of the short sword she used. Piandao was offering the weapon to her but she could not bring herself to touch it.
"It was Xiao's. I'm sure he would want you to have it."
Her hands reached out to grip the weapon then, pulling it close to her chest and bowed her head. Since all of her possessions have been burnt down from four years ago, she never had anything to remember her old caretakers by. This was the last remaining piece of Xiao—and the ring around her neck was the last piece of Lu Jie.
"Thank you…"
Ameya and Piandao bowed before each other, saying their final farewells and she left, feeling lighter than when she first arrived. Slowly, Ameya was moving forward from her past.
They hadn't meant to spy but their curiosity got the better of them, hiding behind the garden wall and watched the exchange between the swordmaster and waterbender with wide eyes. Ameya had always been reserved about matters concerning herself—they did not understand what business she may have with Piandao.
They knew she was fierce with the sword, Sokka had experienced firsthand. Katara knew Ameya had been dangerous even without her bending. Aang didn't realize just how powerful their new addition to the party was. Toph could only sense the movement with her seismic senses but even then, she knew the young woman was on par with the swordsmaster.
When Ameya made her way back to the campsite, the others had not commented on her slightly puffy eyes. They greeted her with easy smiles, eyeing the new sword with interest and she briefly explained the gift had been from her previous master.
She suspected nothing to their snooping and they all packed up their items; it was time for them to go.
"Are you feeling better?"
Sokka startled as the young woman spoke to him quietly, stuffing his belongings in his travel pack with haste. He blinked at her but she was collecting her things calmly, not meeting his eyes. He found it odd that she was the one comforting him when she was the one that was crying just moments before—but they weren't supposed to know that.
"You mean a lot to them; we've never seen you as anything less," Ameya smiled softly, "Yue would be proud."
Sokka's heart sped up at the mention of the Moon Spirit, his gaze lowering to stare at his hands. This was the first time she was mentioned to him since Ameya joined the group. But his lips lifted up gently at her reassurance and pride swelled in his chest for approval.
"She would be proud of you too," Sokka was certain of it. "You're part of our gang now. I promised Yue I would keep you safe; you've disappeared on us far too many times."
It was an attempt at a joke on his part but Ameya stiffened at his words. Something was stabbing in her heart again, the uncomfortable twist in her gut that always appear whenever her companions put their trust in her. She didn't know how to react and Sokka wondered if he said the wrong thing.
"Thank you."
Those were the only words that left her mouth and a small smile was upon her pale lips but Sokka felt the same sense of distance from Ameya again and wondered why, despite her smile, she looked so broken.
Author's Notes:
Wow this was a long chapter.
Quick note—I do plan on having Suki introduced too but Ameya does not know Suki and this is mainly from her point of view but—Suki won't appear for a while. There are a lot of things planned—things from the past would come back to haunt them (Ameya mainly) so the question is…did you guys manage to catch onto the hints from the past 29 chapters and soon the future ones?
Ehehe oh man Book 3…is just beginning.