•Three•
Ember Island beach house, Last day of summer, 158AG
(7 years old)
The warmest night of the summer was always Sikenna's favorite, and least favorite. It was the night of the Isle Festival, but it was always Mako's last night before he returned to the main land, and she wouldn't see him again until next year. It was always a fun night, but Sikenna always found herself going to bed sad.
The six of them, Sikenna, Kona, Mako, Sumi, Raiko and Nero, were dashing through the crowd of people at the Isle Festival towards their parents.
"Mama!" Sikenna shouted happily as they reached them.
"Can we have some coins for the arcade?!" Kona finished for her, his round face flushed from running. Their mother chuckled at them and handed them each some coins.
"Stay close to each other!" Mako's mom called after the kids as they ran off to the arcade.
"And DONT run off! Kenna, Kona?!" Kyra called after her kids, knowing they would be the ones to convince the group to run off somewhere else. Her eyes scanned over the crowd, but she could hear their laughter and Kona yelling back,
"We won't, mom!" Before she couldn't hear them anymore. Kyra shook her head and looked over to Naoki, who was shaking her head, but laughing.
"These kids, huh?" Kyra laughed with her friend.
"They're something all right…" there was a moment of silence and the women's looked around the pop up shop they were at.
"Did you know that Kenna kissed Mako?" Naoki asked quietly. Kyra's head whipped over to her.
"She's a wild spirit, Naoki, I'm sorry." Kyra said in return. Naoki laughed again, her smile bright.
"Don't worry about it, Kyra. I just thought it was funny that she kissed him before Mako kissed her. San and I have been betting on this since they were 5, I lost 3 coins. I like her spirit." The two friends laughed, picked a couple items from the shop to by, and moved onto the next one.
"Kona, MOVE it's my TURN!" Sikenna shoved her brother away from the arcade game with her hip, and Sumi cheered loudly when she succeeded. Sikenna laughed trimphantly and started playing the game, ignoring Kona's protests.
When she lost she sighed and turned around, leaning against the machine.
"I'm bored. Let's go find the boys." She said to Sumi, who nodded enthusiastically.
"They're over there getting food, of course. Come on!" The girls ran over to the boys, smiling when they got to the food cart. The 4 boys messily ate their food, and the girls grimaced.
"Oh, yuck. Clean your faces and let's go, Im bored. Let's find something to play."
Nero groaned to Sikenna's left.
"I hate when you're bored. You always get us in trouble." Sumi and Mako laughed, but Sikenna's jaw dropped in shock.
"I do not!" She spat.
"You do too! Last time you were bored, you got us to play Blue Spirit, and ran right in front of Fire Lord Zuko, and almost tripped the princess!" Nero laughed back, taking a bite of his food.
"I didn't MEAN to!" Sikenna shot back.
"Well what about the time before that? You got mad at Kona when we were seeing what the witch was doing, and you almost caught the field on fire." Sumi said in Nero's defense.
"That was more Kona's fault than mine, Sumi. He made me mad on purpose. Who's side are you on?" Sikenna said to her best friend. Sumi rolled her eyes and took a noodle from Raiko's bowl. Sikenna was getting sick of her friends picking on her. She had GREAT ideas!
"Remember when she let all those flutter bats go at the market?" Raiko added, and then all of them laughed. Sikenna narrowed her eyes at them, her hands in tiny fists by her side.
"You're all annoying." She muttered, before turning around and running off.
"Kenna! Kenna wait!" She had made it all the way to the rides they were still to small to ride before she heard Mako behind her. She didn't say anything, but she stopped and waited for him. Mako took a few moments to catch his breath before he spoke, bringing his hand to the back of his neck.
"Wow, you can run pretty fast now." He muttered, still out of breath. Sikenna wasn't amused.
"What do you want? Forgot to tell me the time I got you in trouble?" She frowned and looked down at her feet. Instead, he laughed, much to Sikenna's surprise. Her eyes shot up to his smiling face, and felt a little bit better already.
"No. Anytime I've gotten in trouble with you, it was really fun!" He nodded enthusiastically and started walking in the direction she was originally heading.
"So then what are you doing here?" She asked when she caught up to him. Mako shrugged his little shoulders.
"You seemed sad. I don't like leaving you alone when you're sad."
Sikenna pouted.
"I wasn't sad. I was annoyed. I just want to have fun, I don't mean to get you guys in trouble." A group of roudy teenagers passed them too close, and Mako took Sikenna's wrist and weaved her past them so they didn't lose each other.
"We do have fun! You're a lot of fun, Kenna. Some people are just more scared of getting in trouble than you and Kona are." This was true. Sikenna and Kona got scolded and disciplined, but Kyra didn't raise her voice to them when she was mad, and there were lots of talks about what the twins did wrong, and what they could of done, and how to fix their mistake, or do better next time. They never really feared getting in trouble, they just learned from it.
"You're right. Thanks, Mako." Mako smiled at her and offered her some of his Fire Flakes.
They walked around the festival like that for a while. They joked around and laughed about things they did that summer. All the games they played, people they saw, jokes they pulled, times they had snuck into either of their kitchens for snacks, the notes Mako and the twins passed between their windows when they were up to late. Mako laughed so hard remembering when Kona lost his tooth when he fell out of the tree in the garden, that he choked on a fire flake. Even though it had started out with her being teased, it was a really fun night, and Sikenna was glad she was able to hang out with Mako alone one more time before he left.
Mako had finally gotten his breathing back under control from the fire flake and looked around at where they were. They had somehow made their way back in front of the rides, and Mako soaked in the lights of the festival, the noises. He hated his last night here.
"I'm glad I decided to kiss you." Came Sikenna's voice. Mako turned to look at her, shocked. Sikenna smiled at his reaction, it was so funny when he looked like that.
"W-why?" Mako asked, obviously flustered with her randomness. Sikenna laughed at him, though. She always did.
"Because." She stated with a nod, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and nothing else had made more sense.
"You're nice, and funny, and my favorite friend besides Sumi. And you're not loud, like Raiko, or get mad like Nero does. And you make me laugh more than you make me mad."
Mako smiled at her, a bright smile that made her stomach feel like the flutter bats she freed were in there. Then he closed his eyes, swooped in, and kissed her again. It was only about a second longer than the last, which was all of one entire second, but it was nice. Her lips were soft and Mako could feel her kiss back, so there was a different sensation than last time, and he knew then why people did this.
"OOOOOOOOOOH!" came Kona's loud voice, and the two jumped apart, their faces redder than the fire they could make with their hands. Sumi was giggling, while the other two boys were hunched over in laughter at Kona's antics. Sikenna felt it in her arms before she felt it in her finger tips: the anger. She got so mad at Kona so quickly. He ruined her time with Mako before he left for the summer!
"Shut UP, KONA!" she stomped her foot and shot a tiny fire ball at his feet, in the middle of a festival, on the hottest night of the summer. Apparently she had been madder than she originally thought, because not only was her aim way off, but it packed a bit more punch than what she usually could do.
The fire ball flew over the heads of her friends and right into a grassy hill that lined a couple merchant carts. People screamed and the merchants all got the buckets of water they kept for safety and tried to put the small grass fire out.
Oh no.
"SIKENNA!"
.•¥•.
Ember island construction site, Spring 168 AG
(16 years old)
"So, it's called a what?" Sumi asked, half curious, half dreadfully bored. The group of friends have been sitting outside of this construction site for an hour, and Sumi would have rather been anywhere else.
"A Pro-bending arena!" Kona said happily. Sikenna scrunched her nose, dipping her hand into her fire flakes.
"So, they're making a sport out of bending, now?" It didn't sound too impressive to Sikenna, but it was new, and everyone was excited about it. The whole island had been buzzing for weeks about this new arena, and a professional pro bending team was to be named after the island.
"Yeah! It sounds awesome! I can't wait to join a team." Nero said as he rubbed his hands together, not taking his eyes off the half built arena. Sikenna looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
"It'll be a hit, no doubt." Raiko started. Sikenna turned to look at him.
"It's always fun to watch Kenna and Kona spar, you're both really competitive. With some ground rules and a goal, this is going to take off."
Nero reached over and threw a fire flake at him, ignoring Sikenna scolding him for touching her precious snacks.
"I spar with them too, numnuts." He said with a laugh. Raiko laughed and stole some of Sikenna's snacks to throw back, ignoring Sikenna's loud "stooooop! You're both idiots!" As he did.
"Yeah, but they always kick your ass, so it's not as fun to watch." The kids laughed and Nero narrowed his eyes at them all, waving them off with a defeated,
"Whatever." Before turning back to the construction site.
"Are you going to try out for the team, Kenna?" Sumi asked next to her. Sikenna snorted into her fire flakes as Lotus popped up onto her shoulder. Sikenna handed the fire ferret some flakes without looking at her and kept talking.
"No. I want to get off this rock one day. Being on a Pro-bending team just means I always have to come back."
Sumi rolled her eyes at her and sighed.
"Shut up. You love this rock." Sikenna laughed because she wasn't wrong.
"That's why I have to get off of it, Sumi. So I can miss home." Sumi looked at her friend, her head slightly tilted. Most of the time, Sikenna was the one that was getting them into sticky situations, coming up with crazy plans, a spirit as wild and untamed as the fire she created. But there were other times, like just now, when she said the most mature, deeply profound things. There was so much more to Sikenna than anyone really thought, and it was half the reason she loved her.
.•¥•.
Capital City, Fire nation, late winter 159AG
(7 years old.)
Warning: parent loss/death
People were talking to her, and she knew it. But she couldn't hear it. It sounded like they were a thousand miles under water. The only thing that snapped her out of it was Kona's hand twitching in hers.
"... I'm so sorry. We tried everything we could." A man in a white lab coat nodded solemly at Sikenna's dad, putting a hand on his shoulder for a moment.
"I'll give you guys some time." He said, and walked away. Just like that, like it was nothing. Like he didn't just tell two 7 year olds that their mother had died, like he didn't just rip out a piece of everyone's heart and kicked it down the drain. Sikenna couldnt feel anything. There was a weird lump in her throat, but other than that, there was nothing else. No sadness, no tears, she couldn't even feel the seat she was sitting on. You couldn't convince her she wasn't floating, to be perfectly honest.
When Kyra had gotten sick, everyone just thought it was a typical cold. She would make some of her herbs, maybe get something from the doctor, and she would be fine. But the cough got worse and worse, the fever never stayed away for long, and it had been weeks and weeks before she collasped in the kitchen. Luckily their father had been right there, but that was almost a month ago now, and she hadn't been home since. And now she never would come home.
What were they supposed to do now? Who was going to take care of them? Their father was a guard at different prisons throughout the fire nation, and he was never home long before they wouldn't see him again for 6 or so months. Who would tell them stories? Teach them lessons a lesson out of accidentally catching a hillside on fire? Who would stick up for her when Kona was being a jerk about Sikenna being a girl? Who would pretend to sneak food with them next summer? Who would tuck them into bed at night, and make them feel loved? Sikenna felt sick to her stomach. She would never hear her voice again, she would never smell her perfume, or feel her hand rub her back in comfort when she was sad.
Sikenna looked over at Kona, her eyes filled to the brim with tears that hadn't fallen yet. Kona looked back, eyes red from trying to hold back the tears, and squeezed her hand, knowing what she meant. It was just them now, the two of them. The only constants in each other's lives that was left were each other.
Sikenna almost jumped back in her seat when their father knelt down in front of them, his eyes red and full of tears.
"Come. It's time to go home."
Home? Home where? Where was home, if their mother wasn't there? They couldn't go back there. How could he want to go back without her?!
But they did. They went back to the house they lived in with their mother. The house she decorated, full of her things, and pictures of her smiling face. Sikenna and Kona didn't get that much sleep that night, but when they did, they were huddled together on Sikenna's bed after crying on each other's shoulders. The whole night, it really did feel like it was them against the world.
.•¥•.
Sikenna and Kona stood shoulder to shoulder on the bow of the ship, feeling the most comfort they had felt all month looking at the Ember Island port. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make Sikenna sigh in relief. The sensation of not feeling much of anything hasn't left her since the night her mother died, it was nice to feel a spark of something. Their father had done the best he could to comfort them, but he was mourning a wife. And the truth of the matter is, he had been away from work for so much of their lives, he felt like he didn't really know his children, and the twins felt the same way about him. And that's why he made the choice that he did.
He was to be back at work in another month, and he didn't know how long he would be gone. His kids deserved someone that could be there for them, who knew them more than he could, who could comfort them through the loss of their mother like they deserved to be. So, he was sending them to live with his mother on Ember island until they were old enough to make their own life decisions. Maybe it was lazy parenting, he certainly felt like it was, but it was better for the twins in the end. They needed somebody, and he couldn't be that person.
The birds chirped happily as they disembarked the ship, completely unaware of the beautiful soul the people they were singing to had lost. There wasn't much conversation as they walked to their grandmother's house, but the city swirled around them, music could be heard in the distance. Sikenna couldn't help but think it felt weird to be in a place so vibrant when her life seemed so grey and murky lately. Kona grabbed her hand and kept walking. He seemed a little overwhelmed by everything around them, his clammy hands giving him away. Sikenna held on to his hand right, and began pulling them a little quicker to their grandmother's house.
"Hello, my lovlies." Their grandmother cooed to them as she opened the door. Sikenna smiled half heartedly and spoke for her and her brother.
"Hi, Gram." Came her quiet raspy voice. Their grandmother smiled sweetly at them and ushered them inside.
The house itself had 5 bedrooms. Grandma came from a family where she had 5 identical siblings, so she had prepared for having more than just one child, though that didn't end up happening. The wood floors were light and gave the illusion the home was brighter than it was. There were lots of windows, but Gram had a green thumb, and many of them were covered with plants hanging down in front of them. The living room itself resembled a bit of a jungle with all her house plants. On rainy days they had to play inside, Sikenna, Kona and Mako used to pretend they were in a spirit jungle, looking for the Wan Shi Tong's library.
Sikenna stopped at the door of the bedroom her and Kona had shared every summer, a bag of clothes in her hand. Much to her surprise, Gram kept directing Kona to the door next to hers, the one their parents used to sleep in when they were here. Or, well, at least their mother stayed there. With wide eyes, Kona looked at Sikenna as they opened the door to their rooms. Everything was almost the same in Sikenna's room. The bed was where it always was, in front of the perfect window she loved so much. The wardrobe was in the same place, on the wall next to the door, facing the bed and window. Across her bed from the other side of the room, however, where Kona's bed used to be, was her mother's vanity from the room that was now Kona's. Sikenna's eyes widened at it, dropping her bag by the door and slowly walking towards it. She slid into the puffy vanity seat and looked at all it's belongings. Beautiful jewelry, bracelets and arm bands, mostly, laid across it's surface. Tucked into the bottom right corner of the mirror was a picture of her and the twins from last summer, and another from a couple summer's before tucked into the frame on the upper left corner. Sikenna almost didn't see that picture, as she was distracted with the blue silk robe with tassels that half covered it from view, draping over one side of the vanity mirror. Her little hand reached out for the robe and pulled it to her, smelling her mom on it still. She slid her arms into and hopped off the vanity stool, letting the robe drag on the floor behind her like a cape more than a robe as she walked out of the room to check on Kona. This is where they would live for the rest of their lives. Without their mother, without their father, only them and their steadily aging grandmother.
But at least she had Kona, and she would always have Kona. At least she had her friends, Sumi, Nero, and Raiko. And in a few months, she would be able to hug Mako again, and cry to him about her mother, and have him tell her nice words and make her feel better. At least, in a few months, she would feel like this hole in her heart was starting to get filled back up again.
.•¥•.
Ember island, beginning of summer, 170AG
(18 years old.)
Sikenna sighed happily as she stretched, taking in the fresh summer air. It was a perfect, clear night. The perfect night for a roof run. Sikenna and Kona haven't done one of these for weeks and Sikenna could feel her heart start beating faster in anticipation as she stretched. She heard Kona land on the roof next to her and she looked over her shoulder at him with a smirk.
Roof runs have been something they had done since they were about 13. Sikenna and Kona had been practicing their fighting styles, and learned they were quite good at running along things other people had to stop and get their balance on every few steps. They decided to test their skills and walked all the way to the end of their town, climbed up onto the roof top, and had started jumping from roof to roof until they got to Raiko's house, which was on the last street of the village at the opposite end they started. Eventually they started getting better, and it had turned into a bit of a race for them whenever they went to Raiko's house. There were plenty of complaints, and everyone knew who it was, but no one could ever provide any proof, so they had gotten off scott free. Eventually, the townfolk got used to hearing tiny pitter patters on their roofs every now and again, and the complaints eventually fizzled out.
"Let's go, Kenna, I don't want to miss the match." Kona groaned as he popped up from a squatting position from a stretch. Sikenna rolled her eyes.
"Nerd. No bending if I'm starting to beat you then, or youll be late for your PreCiOuS mAtCh" She mocked him. Kona narrowed his eyes at her laughing figure and shot a small ball at her feet, fizzling it out before it reached her or the roof, and taking off while she was distracted by it.
"Kona! You CHEATER!" Sikenna shouted, and she sprinted off after him into the night, jumping from roof to roof.
•¥•
Raiko heard the soft thud of two pairs of feet on his roof and rolled his eyes. Stupid twins and their stupid agility. The next moment they were swinging in through the open window, making Sumi jump. Nero laughed and grabbed Sikenna by the waist, pulling her onto his lap.
"Gross, come on, guys, we literally just popped through the window" Kona said, scrunching up her nose.
"Yeah, about that. Do either of you think you'll ever use he front door again?" Sikenna scrunched up her nose at him, and Kona looked back with a blank face.
"Why would we do that?" They asked in unison. Sumi laughed at them and leaned forward to the radio.
"Guys come on, the match is starting." Sumi adjusted the antenna of the radio until the feed was clear, and they all leaned forward, ready to listen to the match.
The first match was pretty impressive. It was the Kolau Komodo Rhinos against the Ember Island Eel hounds, and the Eel hounds had decimated them. Sikenna wasn't shocked, to be honest. She trained with the fire bender of the team and he was an absolute force to be wreckoned with. The group cheered as their team won the match, and Sikenna excused herself to the bathroom before the next match started. The Eel hounds were up against another team called the Fire Ferrets, and if the rumors were true about them, it would be one Earth rumbling match.
Sikenna looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. She had allowed herself to change so much the past two years, and though she knew she still had a lot of growing up to do, she was happy that her outside appearance was finally starting to reflect that mind set. Her trade mark bangs cut right above her eyebrows that she had had since she was little were finally grown out. The hair that once was her bangs tickled her chin, a reminder of how much she had grown with it. Her hair was still parted in the middle, but it hung down to her ribs now. Generally speaking she would let it flow behind her, but she always had a red ribbon wrapped around her wrist to tie it up whenever she needed it out of her face. She smiled, content that she was starting to look more like her mother, and walked back out to where her friends were listening to the match.
She was met with wide eyes from the group as she did. Her eyebrow raised suspiciously.
"What?" She asked with a laugh. She knew there was nothing wrong with hair or face, she had just been looking at herself in the mirror. Nobody said anything, but Raiko turned the radio up louder, and Sikenna turned towards it with a questioning look on her face.
"... And there goes Bolin taking a shot- AND ITS A HIT. The fire ferrets gain some ground…." Sikenna blocked it out. What did they say? Bolin? It had to be a common earth kingdom name, right? It couldn't be that Bolin. Then she heard it.
" …...Mako saves Bolin from being pushed back a ring and loo-"
"What did he say?" She said, shocked, looking at her friends.
"They said, Bolin and Mako." Kona said dryly, confirming that she had, in fact, heard it right.
"It's not… it's not that Mako and Bolin though. Is it? Can it be?" She asked with a nervous laugh.
"They're brothers. You missed the intro the announcer did." Sumi spoke up softly. Her voice was comforting, knowing how much Mako never coming back did to the twins.
"From republic city." Kona said, staring blankly at the wall ahead of him. Sikenna looked at him and tried to read his face, but there was just about as much expression on his face than there was in his voice.
"So…" Sikenna began, trying to get her brother to look at her. It took a few seconds, but he moved her eyes towards her and smiled a light smile.
"At least they're alive, right?" He said to her. By the tone of it, Sikenna could tell it was supposed to be just for her to hear.
Sikenna nodded her head once.
"And we know where they are.." she said back in the same tone to him. Sikenna thought for a moment, the wheels in her head obviously turning if you looked into her eyes. Then she shook her head, smiled brightly, and turned back to her friends.
"Well? Turn it up. Let's see if they're as good at bending as I thought they would be. Kona you owe me 10 coins if Mako carries the team." Kona scoffed at her, but smiled.
.•¥•.
Ember island, first day of summer, 159AG.
(7 years old)
Just as Sikenna had always done, she woke up with the sunrise, wrapped herself in her mother's robe, and walked out into the garden to sit on her mother's bench. There had been no one to pretend to sneak food out with, no nice words about Kona and how he was acting towards her. Just a quiet house and the dancing shapes on her bed from the perfect window. Today was going to be a good day, though. She was sure of it.
It was officially the first day of summer. The same day every year that Mako and his family come to the island from the main land. After a full year, she was able to see her friend, catch him up on everything he had missed, and maybe she and Kona could feel a little normal again for once, with the whole gang of kids together again. Sikenna knew it would be a few hours before she would hear the family shuffling around the house next door, but she stared at it anyway, hoping this year would be the year they caught an early ship. For some reason, she felt like she really needed Mako's friendship right now, more than any other time. Besides, he made her laugh more than he made her mad, and Sikenna needed a friend like that right now. Her temper had been awful lately, her fuse even shorter than it usually was, and even Sumi was more annoying to her lately. Her fire bending was starting to become a little stronger, too, and it was common for her finger tips to spark whenever she started getting mad. These sparks felt different than her usual fire, and it kind of scared Sikenna. She loved the power she felt as it pulsed through her veins, but she was scared that she didn't have control over it, and she thought talking to Mako could help her stay calmer than she had been lately.
•¥•
It has been hours. Sikenna sat outside as long as she could in the garden waiting for Mako to arrive, only to be called in to have breakfast. She had gotten dressed, brushed her hair and gotten ready for the day, and she had been staring out the perfect window towards their house since. This was taking so much longer than it usually does and she felt the spark in her finger when she let herself get annoyed. Sikenna closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting the sun warm her face and calm her. She felt the sparks recede and opened her eyes towards the house again. Kona sat next to her looking out the window, his chin resting on the frame.
"They're usually here before lunch. What's taking them so long?!" He groaned, frustrated. He just wanted his friend here. Sikenna smiled at him slightly.
"Maybe they stopped for food somewhere and they missed the boat?" Sikenna offered, but Kona just shrugged, mumbling about going to make them sandwhiches for lunch. Sikenna watched him leave before turning back to the window, trying to ignore the pit in her stomach telling her something was wrong.
•¥•
All day, they had waited. All day, and nothing.
After lunch, Sikenna and Kona went to Sumi's to try to distract them from waiting, but her overly cheery demeanor became exhausting to the twins pretty quick, and they didn't stay long. They tried sparring on the beach, but Sikenna was starting to get too mad at Kona getting some shots on her, and could feel the sparks coming back, so they had to stop that not too long after they started, too. By dinner time, Sikenna was sick to her stomach with worry. Something was wrong, she knew it, but if she said it out loud she felt like that would make it real instead of just a dark spirit hiding in the bottom of her belly. She merely pushed the vegetables around in her bowl until they were allowed to get up. The second they were, Sikenna and Kona dashed off to the door and ran down to the port, waiting for Mako's ship to come in.
But the sun was down now, and the port master told them no more ships were due in for another 3 days. Sikenna stared out into the ocean, her face blank and emotionless. What was wrong? What had happened? Kona grunted and kicked the sand around his feet, angry that they had waited all day for nothing. But something in Sikenna's stomach told her they wouldn't be coming, and that she wouldn't see him again. She tried to ignore it, but it had been clawing at her all day.
Like a switch was flicked in her brain, Sikenna felt the fear, anger, and sadness building up inside her. Her hands started shaking at her side as she felt the sparks building up in the palms of her hands. How could this happen? Her mother was dead, her father had handed them off and abandoned them, their grandmother was steadily aging and couldn't do half the things they needed her to to take care of them. It was all too much for her. It was just too much.
She didn't even know she was crying. Tears ran down her face and she screamed, closing her eyes as she did so. She could feel her hair stand up as she did, the sparks in her fingers shooting outwards in release as she did. A tiny, but power, bolt of what looked like lighting shot out of her finger tips. It smashed into a barrel at the entrance of the Harbor, setting it aflame. Sikenna huffed as she caught her breath, watching the barrel burn in front of her. Kona looked at her with wide eyes, looking from her face to her hands. A little frightened from what she just did, but feeling a little bit better, Sikenna hardened her face and narrowed her eyes, stalking past the burning barrel and back home to ignore the sinking pit in her stomach.
But that pit was right. Mako and his family never came that summer. Or the summer after that, or the one after that. And they never saw or heard from him again.
.•¥•.
Republic city, beginning of summer, 170AG.
(18 years old)
"Bye, Mako." Came a girls soft voice as he hugged her. Her hair was in two big buns on the top of her head, and it got in the way of the hug a little bit, but he hugged her back with a smile.
Three boys walked up to him, laughing and shoving, joking around. They all grabbed Mako's forearms to shake hands like their father's do. They waved bye and ran off the wooden dock Mako was standing on, all except one. A short, pretty girl with bangs cut above her eyebrows looked back at him, a sad smile on her lips.
"I wish you would learn to write." She said to him. Mako laughed and pushed her shoulder lightly.
"Shut up. I can write, I just don't like to." They both laughed, and there was a quiet pause between them. Mako admired her cute little lose, and smiled to himself softly.
"Mako? Come on, darling, it's time to go." His mother said softly to him from the ship. Mako nodded at her and went to go turn back to the girl in front of him, but she had launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. Mako felt himself blush and hugged her back just as tightly, closing his eyes and burying himself into her hug. She smelled like fire flakes and Mango's, and he loved it.
"In going to miss you so much, Koko." She whispered into his ear while she hugged him, and he smiled…
"Mako."
Mako heard his name being called from far away, but didn't want to stop the hug in his dream. If felt so comfortable and familiar.
"Mako, wake up." Mako groaned and tried to roll away from the voice as the dream started to slip away.
"MAAAAAAK-OOOOOOOOOOO" his name was sung loudly from beside his bed and his eyes shot open, annoyed that he had to leave the dream. It felt real, like he had that hug before, the smell of the girl little 7 year old Mako was hugging still lingering in his nose, but he had no idea where he would have smelled it before. Mako rolled over and looked up at his little brother, Bolin, who was standing over him.
"Come on. We have to practice tonight for out match against the Ember island Eel hounds tonight." Bolin said, a big smile plastered on his round, perpetually happy face.