Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender in any shape or form.
Ameya had watched the boys attempt to reconcile the two fighting bender's relationship, using their newly purchased messenger hawk to pass notes to the girls and failing miserably once they remembered Toph was blind. She sat quietly, her mind unfocused still from the idea of them treating her so delicately.
She was older than them; she should be the one protecting them. And in her own way, Ameya was. But she wasn't the only one; they had been looking out for her too. And yet her mind continued to go in circles with the questions 'why, why, why' ringing in her head.
Was it because of Yue?
"Ugh! You're all driving me crazy!"
She looked up at the voice of Katara's angry tone. The young waterbender stood up and walked away then, heading towards the lake by the waterfall. Ameya stood up as well, disregarding all of her previous thoughts. There was no reason for her to keep mulling over pointless questions. This is not about her.
Right now, Katara and Toph were the ones in disarray. They were the ones that need help; not her.
"I'll go after her," she said quietly to the boys, sending a small smile their way and left.
Don't give them a reason to worry.
Ameya found Katara bathing beneath the cliff; her long dark hair fanned around her underwater while deep blue eyes stared at the water unblinking. Katara tensed at the presence of another person but relaxed at the sight of the older girl, taking off her clothes to leave her only in her dark undergarments and joined her in the water.
"I don't think I'm wrong," Katara stated immediately, a small pout on her dark lips.
"I don't think so, too," Ameya agreed, settling down next to her.
Katara's eyes light up briefly, "Then you think that Toph was in the wrong, too?"
"That's not what I said either."
Katara deflated, looking away with a small frown. Ameya was being unclear again. Why was she here then?
"Believe it or not, Yue and I had our share of arguments."
The younger girl glanced at Ameya curiously. This was the first time she decided to share something after the fall of Ba Sing Se. Katara waited patiently, wondering what she were to say next and held onto every word. Ameya stared at the setting sun with a warm look in her eyes, the moon would appear soon.
"I honestly don't remember what they were about anymore," there was a small smile upon her lips, "But I remember how upset we both were. Yue always apologized first though, she always did hate fighting."
Katara cannot imagine the kind princess to be angry at anything. She remembered the Water Tribe Princess to be fair and composed but also—happy and excited whenever she had been with Ameya. They were like sisters, Katara remembered, and a small part of her wanted to join in too.
"I think the closer you are to someone, the more common it is to fight. It shows how much you care for them."
"Sokka and I fight often too," Katara admitted. She knew Ameya wanted to talk about Toph but Katara refused to fall into the trap.
"I'd be surprised if you didn't. Sokka does have a thick head," Ameya joked and a smile found a way on Katara's lip for the first time that day.
"Did you know he disliked Aang when we first met him?" Katara said excitedly, "He didn't trust him at all and thought Appa couldn't fly. You should have seen his face when Appa did though—I wish I could have painted a picture of it!"
"I bet he would deny it if we ask him now," Ameya heaved a sigh.
"Definitely. His ego can get overwhelming at times. If it wasn't for Suki, I don't know how he would mature from his 'guys are superior' phase."
Ameya arched a brow then. "Suki?"
Katara nodded her head. "Yeah, she's the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors and can totally kick Sokka's butt. We met her again before we entered Ba Sing Se and she—"
The young waterbender stopped talking then, almost realizing something in her rambles. Ameya did not know Suki—did not know about her possible relationship with Sokka. Katara paused, not knowing how to continue her previous statement and Ameya could only watch with a tilt of her head in confusion.
"So lemme guess: You brought me out here to tell me that your sister's not as annoying as I make her out to be."
Luckily, Katara was saved from the explanation at Toph's voice directly above them. Both waterbenders glanced upwards in curiosity, seeing two pair of feet dangle off the cliff.
"Nah, she's pretty much a pain." Katara's lighthearted mood disappeared at the sound of Sokka's voice, frowning at his plain tone. "She's always got to be right about everything and she gets all bossy and involved and in your business…"
"Yeah. I don't know how you could deal with it."
"Actually, in a way, I rely on it."
Ameya studied Katara's expression closely, both eavesdropping on the conversation above them. Toph was not able to sense them in the water and they would not be able to see the waterbenders unless they fall into the lake.
"I don't understand."
"When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life. Our family was a mess, but Katara? She had so much strength. She stepped up and took on so much responsibility. She helped fill the void that was left by our mom."
Ameya's eyes softened at Sokka's explanation, watching the young waterbender behind long lashes. Katara looked almost bashful at the compliment but also sullen at the mention of their mother. Ameya remembers how heartbroken Katara had been whenever her mother was involved; her pendant was always well polished and cherished.
"I guess I never thought about that," Toph said softly.
"I'm gonna tell you something crazy. I never told anyone this before, but honestly? I'm not sure I can remember what my mother looked like," Sokka's voice turned gentle, "It really seems like my whole life, Katara's been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's there. And now, when I try to remember my mom, Katara's is the only face I can picture."
There were tears in her deep blue eyes at Sokka's confession and Ameya quietly patted Katara's hair. The younger girl did not shield away from her touch, almost wanting to lean into it because in that moment, Katara thought Ameya was acting motherly for her too.
"The truth is sometimes Katara does act motherly, but that's not always a bad thing. She's compassionate and kind, and she actually cares about me," there was a quiver in Toph's tone and a pause in her words, "You know, the real me. That's more than my own mom."
Katara sunk into the water slightly, her tears mended together with the lake. Ameya smiled. The closer you are to someone, the more fights would occur. Katara and Toph cared greatly for each other—but did not know how to express it correctly.
"Don't ever tell her I said any of this!" Toph exclaimed.
"Hey, my lips are sealed."
Their feet left the cliff after a few more minutes; Sokka had accomplished what he wanted. Katara had calmed down then, her eyes soft at the conversation they had not meant to hear but Ameya was glad they did.
"Toph's right," Katara glanced at Ameya's soft-spoken tone, "You're still a kid, too. It's not the end of the world to act like one sometimes."
Children, they're just children.
Katara was forced to mature at an early age because she had lost her mother. Toph stayed rebellious at heart because she had been too sheltered. They cannot express their emotions freely and only lashed out in anger because they cared—for each other.
Katara found herself nodding along. Ameya always had a way to comfort her—she had lessened Katara's burden since she joined the gang. She was always looking out for them in her own subtle way—just like how she is doing now. And with her here, Katara thinks it wouldn't be so bad to step back from her overprotective role, a job she had silently taken upon herself, and decided to rely on Ameya and her comforting hands.
It was nightfall when Sokka and Toph returned from their walk. Ameya, Katara, and Aang were sitting by the campsite but Katara noticed their arrival first, making her way towards the young earthbender. Sokka smiled at his sister and left the two girls alone, joining the rest of them to sit by the small fire.
"Hi, Toph. Um, I wanna—"
"Katara, stop. You don't need to apologize. I was the one being stupid. These scams are out of control, and I'm done with them."
Ameya smiled at Toph's resolve, nudging Sokka in the side playfully and he grinned.
"Actually I wasn't going to apologize. I was gonna say...I wanna pull a scam with you."
She resisted the urge to laugh as Aang and Sokka gaped at Katara's suggestion.
"What? You wanna pull a scam?" Toph stared at Katara incredulously.
"Not just any scam. The ultimate scam." Aang and Sokka exchanged a look and toppled over behind them. Ameya arched a brow at the fallen boys but a fond smile was on her lips as Katara wrapped an around Toph. "Whaddaya say, Toph? Just me and you. One last go. You in?"
"You know I'm in! Now what's this idea of yours?"
"Try not to get caught," Ameya teased and they glanced back at her with a bright smile.
"But that's part of the plan!"
They spent the night formulating plans with each other. Aang and Sokka had awaken a bit later but both still seemed to be dazed that Katara had even suggested to be a part of the scam too. They almost fainted again, if not for Ameya calming them down with smiles and reassurance.
With high hopes and rekindled friendship, all of them fell asleep that night, excited for the next day.
Katara and Toph had headed into town together the next morning, off to pull their 'ultimate scam'. Ameya stayed behind to train with Sokka and Aang, brushing up on her sword fighting and waterbending skills. While it had been easy for her to overtake Sokka in a spar, the Avatar was another matter compared to a serious battle. Ameya barely held her ground against Aang but he barely managed to subdue her too.
They settled to resting by the campsite after training, resting up for the day. It had been hours since the two girls left and has yet to return. Ameya wondered if something may have happened to them, a small frown on her pale lips at the thought.
"I'm going to look around town," she announced, waving briefly to the two boys who still looked worn out from training.
The walk into town was less than eventful. She could see the tall statue of the Fire Lord from her descend down the hills. It was late afternoon when Ameya finally reached the town, her icy eyes glancing around the houses suspiciously. It was eerily quiet—too quiet to be considered normal.
Where was everyone?
Her hand reached for the sword strapped to her side. Ameya would be able to take care of anyone should they try to ambush her. Her only concern right now was finding Katara and Toph.
She heard the metal footsteps before she even saw him. Ameya rolled to the side as soon as an explosion set off onto the ground where she had been seconds ago. She looked where the explosion had come from, eyes widening at the sight of the bald assassin with an odd tattoo on his forehead. She had never fought against such a unique firebender before and his highly concentrated firepower could easily overpower any of her own.
Ameya scowled, getting onto her feet and ran.
"I can't believe I'm so stupid! See? This is exactly why I'm against these scams! I knew this would happen!"
Katara groaned, sitting on their wooden imprisonment next to Toph. How much time has passed since they captured her too? Their scam had completely failed, leaving them useless in a wooden cage.
"But, this was your idea," Toph reminded.
"I know. I wanted to show that I'm not so motherly. I wanted to show you that I can have fun too," the waterbender admitted softly. Ameya had been right; they were just children. It has been so long that Katara almost forgot what it was like to actually have fun.
"Katara, you are fun. If nothing else, you're at least fun to argue with," Toph smiled.
"I know your relationship with your parents is complicated. And I shouldn't have said what I said."
"It's okay. I was really mad when you said that because..." she paused, unseeing eyes closed to admit her own worries, "well because, maybe it's true. I try not to think about it, but when I left, I probably really hurt them."
Katara watched the tears fall down from Toph's closed eyes and wrapped her arms around the young earthbender. Toph disliked showing weakness but she could not stop herself from leaning into the comfort of Katara. Despite not being able to see anything within the cage, she felt safe feeling the pulse of Katara's heart.
"Ameya mentioned how common it is to argue with someone the closer you are to them… I think years from now, we would not remember why we were fighting today but remember how much we care for each other instead," Katara mused.
"That's cheesy," Toph sniffed but a smile was on her face at the thought.
"Maybe," Katara agreed, "But…she told me that while speaking of…her sister, or well, someone who she considered as her sister. We lost her to the Fire Nation back in the Northern Water Tribe…"
Toph pulled away. "Ameya…never said anything."
A wry smile appeared on Katara's lips. "She never does." She paused, "How long had you known…about her…'habit'?"
Toph knew she meant her thieving skills. "Since Sokka went off to train with his swordmaster. What about you?"
"I didn't know until recently. She never gave me a clear answer whenever I asked."
The two of them looked down sullenly. Ameya never told them anything herself. It was a bit disheartening, knowing that she did not consider them to be as close as they considered her. Katara had enjoyed retelling tales of their adventure with Ameya during their bath. For that moment, she thought they were finally connected. And when Ameya had comforted her after hearing Toph's confession, Katara relied on her.
But they still did not fully know her. She kept to herself, hiding behind empty smiles and vague words. Katara was reminded of the dagger; sharp and deadly yet so alone in her rucksack.
Ameya gasped as her back hit a hard wall, dodging out of another blast from the firebender. She pushed herself off, spotting a well nearby and bended the water to ice shards. The assassin blasted the icicles away, leaving a stream of dust and steam in its wake and turned to see the young woman gone.
Water gathered at the feet of the large man, spiraling around him rapidly and froze the bottom half of his feet. He looked up to see icy eyes glaring at him, arms outstretched at her own handiwork before turning around and running away again.
He brought his metal hand down to smash the ice, breaking free from the momentarily confinement and hopped onto the roof of a house. The girl had done well to distract him, slipping away from his attacks almost as well as the airbender. She was good at hiding her tracks too, disappearing around corners and from his sights.
The assassin looked down at the empty town, trying to spot a speck of red or black hair. Something else caught his attention instead, spotting two male figures at the center of the town. He headed in that direction, the thought of capturing the other waterbender gone from his mind.
Ameya's eyes widen once she realized he was not hunting her anymore. She focused on the faraway figures of Aang and Sokka and her feet ran in that direction.
"Aang! Run!"
Aang reacted as soon as they heard her voice, turning around and grabbing Sokka to dodge out of the blast from the assassin. The assassin turned back to her again once she revealed her location, sending another stream of concentrated fire her way. Ameya barely dodged another deadly blast, hiding behind a wall and catching her breath. She had never needed to run away so desperately before—for the first time in a long while, someone was trying to actively hunt and kill her.
She ignored the pounding of her heart; running along the wall to the direction Aang and Sokka had dodged to. They must have come into town to search for Katara and Toph too. Ameya breathed deeply and ran.
"Ameya! Did you find Katara or Toph? Were you fighting this guy the whole time?! Are you okay?!" Sokka bombarded her with questions as soon as she found them hiding behind a wheelbarrow.
"No—I didn't. I was ambushed as soon as I came into town. I'm fine," she answered briskly, trying to regain her breathing once more.
"This guy is too good! He shoots fire from his brain!" Sokka exclaimed.
"We should split up. He can't chase us all!" Aang instructed.
They nodded their heads and ran off in opposite directions. Aang propelled himself towards the roof, running back towards the heart of the town. The assassin followed the Avatar immediately and Ameya followed after him. His true goal was Aang in the first place—it did not matter where the others go.
He sent another blast of fire his way, creating an explosion from the roof and sending Aang flying into the metal statue. Aang fell towards the ground, his body limp from the sudden impact. It was on the last second that he managed to stabilize his footing but collapsed onto the floor shakily.
A shadow casted over the Avatar's body and Aang looked up with unfocused eyes on a red figure standing before him. Ameya had her back to him, her arms stretched out to shield him away from the assassin a foot away. A hard glare was in her icy eyes despite her lack of weapon.
Aang wanted to tell Ameya to run while she can—to leave him be but the words could not form. He saw the assassin inhale, his head tilting back as if prepared to send another blast their way. Ameya's body tensed even more but she did not move.
There was a quick movement behind him and before he could fire, his head was soon encased in ice. Ameya and Aang watched with wide eyes at their savior, seeing Katara, Toph, and Sokka standing directly behind the assassin.
"Aang! Ameya! Get up!" Katara instructed.
Ameya reached down and helped the young airbender up to his feet while the assassin was distracted.
"Let's get out of here!" Toph exclaimed as they ran towards them and Ameya began to lead them away.
The assassin broke free from the ice surrounding his head, seeing the retreating figures of the five. Toph turned around to earthbend a boulder as a distraction, none of them dared to look back to see the explosion.
"Hey, I got it! The perfect name for that guy: 'Combustion Man'!" Sokka exclaimed amidst their escape.
"Good job, Sokka. Now let's get outta here before Combustion Man catches us," Toph said hurriedly.
"See? It fits so well!"
They managed to escape from the assassin successfully, hopping on Appa as soon as they returned back to the campsite and flew off into the night. They did not stop flying until the sky bison was exhausted from the sudden departure, landing on another cliff side to avoid villages and civilians.
Sokka yawned once they landed; hopping off of Appa with his messenger hawk perched on his arm. Ameya made way to jump down from the sky bison as well but Toph's voice stopped her.
"Ameya? Katara? I need your help."
They glanced at each other before settling down back in the saddle.
"What is it, Toph?" Katara asked.
The young earthbender held up a sheet of paper. "I need you to write some things down for me. I wanna send a letter to my parents."
Katara smiled. "I'll be happy to help."
Ameya hesitated. This did not seem like her place to interfere but Toph asked her to stay. What can she do to help? Although she knew of Toph's reasoning for leaving, knew of her insecurities and even her admiration for Katara, why would she want her to help? Ameya knew nothing of her own parents—she would not be able to offer any services.
"Could you let them know I'm doing well? I'm learning a lot of stuff on my travels and I'm having fun…with people who would protect me as I would for them," Toph smiled fondly.
Katara read over the letter slowly, eloquent in her writing and tone for Toph's approval. Ameya stayed quiet during the exchange, listening to the letter and found herself missing the presence Xiao and Lu Jie. They may not be her parents but they acted as ones should. She blinked away the tears, not understanding why she would be crying in the first place. She was done mourning over them—wasn't she?
"Don't…forget to tell them you will return too. Don't keep running away."
They stared at Ameya, her soft voice bringing their attention to her. She did not look at them, focusing on the letter but not seeing the words. She had lost her chance when Yue had turned into the Moon Spirit; Ameya was not able to fulfill her promise. This was something she had to keep reminding herself, something she must do herself too once this war is over.
She will return to the Northern Water Tribe. She will revisit the burnt home of Xiao and Lu Jie. There were still so many things to be done after the war; so many things she had run away from. But if she was able to prevent someone from going down the same path as her, guide Toph back home before it was too late, then it would be worth it.
Katara looked at Toph's approval, seeing the younger girl nod her head and wrote down the promise of a return in the letter. In reality, Toph was not expecting Ameya to have any input—she had always kept to herself and stayed in the background. But Toph knew, if little by little, if they are able to open up to her—maybe Ameya would do the same too.
Author's Note:
Slightly girl bonding? Actually I really liked these three together—but I hope I didn't not make Katara or Toph too out of character? They never mentioned what was in the letter so I…guessed…to what Toph would say? And they are still learning about Ameya too—but she's still adjusting herself.
Reviews are much loved! Thank you always!