A/N: CONTENT WARNING: Character death! Now I've walked through hell for you. What's an adventurer to do? Love and be loved. Read… and review!
Forever Burned
[Winter 115 AG]
The news had caught them off guard. Only so much as that it could've been any day and just hadn't expected it on this day specifically. Roland had so rudely interrupted them and now the women were rushing to become decent.
"Hurry up, Ty! We can't miss this!"
"Asuna," her lover shouts as she throws something over her head. "Do not get uppity with me. If we're late it is your fault!"
Azula has already changed and is trying to find her shoes. Defensively she replies, "My fault? How could it be my fault!"
Coming to stand beside her now as they both squeeze on their winter boots, Ty Lee whispers, "If you had finished sooner, we wouldn't be in this position! That is not my fault, or my problem."
Looking her in the eyes, Azula gets a mischievous smile. She tilts her head and starts, "Well-"
"Not a word!" Ty Lee points a finger in her face. "If you ever want to see me in bed again, you won't say what you were about to say."
A little stunned, but in a fun way, Azula doesn't say anything at first. She finishes putting on her shoes and smiles. She turns and walks away with a giggle. Perturbed, Ty Lee asks, "What? What? What do you want to say?"
"Nothing," Asuna says, opening their door to exit. "I was just going to say you're right. It is my fault."
Ty Lin stands beside her at the doorway. She looks her in the eye, scanning them for deceit. Finally she smiles. "That's my good girl."
Ty Lin exits and Asuna follows through, wearing a massive grin at this comment. They begin the familiar walk to Lonou's home and Asuna chirps, "Speaking of 'good girls,' this is your last chance to guess: do you think she's having a boy or a girl?"
"I've said girl before and I'm not changing my mind."
"I also think it's a girl," Asuna replies as they
march forward. "But for the sake of competition I'll say boy."
"If this is a competition then what are we wagering?"
"Hmm," Asuna smiles. "If it's a boy, you have to call me a 'good girl,' all night. Even when I'm a bad girl."
Ty Lin shakes her head as they walk through the empty streets, not looking back at her. She refuses to give her the satisfaction of acknowledging the comment. "Okay, and if I win? If it's a girl?"
Asuna leans in and whispers something so quietly that no one in all of Lanxi could possibly hear. It brings a smile to Ty Lin's face. She replies, "Okay, deal!"
The girlfriends skip through the streets on their way to a landmark moment.
"Lonou!" Haroq calls from the other room. "It's time!"
"Go! Go! Go!" Roland ushers him with a hand on his back.
"Bring in that little girl to the world!"
"Little boy!" Asuna corrects her.
The three adults are left alone in the kitchen of Lonou and Alane's home. Lonou disappears further into the house, the largest in all of Lanxi. Plenty of room for their first child, and many others after that. While the homeowners and healer may be out of sight, they are far from out of mind. Especially given that Alane's screams can be heard clearly from their location.
"So, how many do you think they'll end up having?" Roland asks the two.
Asuna offes, "Until Alane can't take anymore is my guess."
An audible scream is heard but ignored by the group.
"For me, I think the perfect number of kids is two."
"I completely agree, Ty Lin." Roland replies.
"Ugh," Asuna groans. "No. One is plenty. No sibling rivalries, can't pit them against one another, no one comparing them."
Roland tries to make eye contact with Ty Lin after this comment, but he doesn't receive it. He turns back to Asuna and comments, "Sounds like you speak from experience?"
Asuna and Ty Lin exchange a look briefly. Asuna purses her lips and looks back at Roland. She looks back again at Ty Lin, then finally replies, "I do. I had-have a brother."
A little stunned, Roland nods. He finally finds the words to say, "You've lived here for over two years, and I've never heard you mention him before. What else don't we know about you?"
He makes direct eye contact with Asuna, who awkwardly stammers, "Ummm."
"She's a woman of many mysteries." Ty Lin says with a smirk. "Like, did you know she's also a gender betrayer?"
This breaks the ice and gets a laugh from the room. In the middle of the laughs none of them hears the fresh screams. When the laughter dies down, but the screaming doesn't, the small group becomes alert. They look around at one another excited. Footsteps are heard approaching and Roland mutters, "Boy or girl, I think we're about to find out!"
Emerging from around the corner is their old friend and new father, Lonou. He enters with a giant smile on his grizzled face. He carries a bundle of joy and stops at the entrance of the room. Ty Lin instinctively moves towards him, while Asuna and Roland remain stationary and staring. In the background Alane can still be heard yelling or groaning.
"Everyone, may I introduce," he pauses for dramatic effect. "Our first daughter, Yasuko!"
Roland now moves towards them, while Ty Lin stops in front of him. Hands balled up, under her chin, she stands with huge eyes in front of Lonou. Asuna remains like a statue in the background. The yelling from Alane ends. Ty Lin whispers, "Oh my Agni! Little Yasuko! How precious. Can I?"
"Lonou!" A voice yells from the back room.
He quickly looks back over his shoulder, then back to Ty Lin. "Of course! Please be careful."
"C'mere," Ty Lin coos as she takes the tiny human into her arms. "Baby Yasuko. First daughter in the family. What a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl!"
"LONOU!"
The father had been lingering, watching Ty Lin hold his child. With this second yell, though, he quickly retreats. Roland closes in on the new baby and the woman who guessed correctly that it would be a girl. Partially because she was wrong, but also partially because newborns make her uneasy, Asuna stays back. Ty Lin looks into the emerald eyes, while Roland wiggles a small finger in her face.
Asuna walks forward, and pauses in front of her lover, her good friend, and the newborn. She peers down at the girl. She looks back up and is met with gloating, grey eyes. Ty Lin raises her eyebrows at her. Azula nods in acknowledgment that Ty Lee was right and she will be paying for it later. After this, she looks back down at the green eyes and threads of black hair.
"Hello, Yasuko," she greets the baby. She turns back to Roland and Ty Lin. She tells them, "I'm going to check on Alane."
She strides past them and into the empty hallways. The only sounds are the echoes of her shoes across the floorboards, and the coos of Ty Lin and Roland, behind her. The house is quiet. The air is stale. Asuna winds through the halls and finally comes around the corner into the delivery room.
She approaches with a smile, but it begins to fade as the image comes into focus. She slows down, finally coming to a stop at the doorway. The image is forever burned into her mind.
Alane, unconscious, in bed. Lonou, doubled over, crying into her lap. Haroq, the only healer in Lanxi, trying to pull the larger man off of her lifeless body. Asuna falls to her knees at the doorway, hand covering her mouth, a nightmare unfolding in front of her.
A/N: I know I go with a load of different OC names, but if you don't know, I recommend you give "Yasuko" a quick Google search to find her place in the ATLA/TLOK canon. This Chapter's OST is "Ya'aburnee" by Halsey.
Love always. Tyzula forever.
Notorious